Other news

Over the past few days, circulated a news about reducing the official minimum daily wage of laborers and employees subject to the Labor Law from LBP 30 thousand to LBP 26 thousand, with no popular protest whatsoever. In the details, that during the Cabinet meeting on June 22, 2016, a decree was released which carried an amendment of Article 2 of the Decree No. 7426/ 2012 which sets the daily wage at LBP 30 thousand as advised by then labor minister, Charbel Nahas, to LBP 26 thousand, in response to present labor minister, Saj3an Azzi, request in 2014, the latter decision has won the approval of various political parties, according to Al-Akhbar newspaper. In this respect, Azzi denied any adjustment of the set minimum wage (LBP 675 thousand), making clear that the decree came to correct a mathematical error (in 2012) in calculating the month and days (!?). Accordingly, by dividing the full minimum wage over 26 working days of a month, excluding Sundays, the correct figure would be LBP 26 thousand, alleged Azzi. Commenting on this, Nahas, while disproving of the above calculation method adopted by Azzi, categorically denied any error on his part, and explained  that dividing the entire wage by the actual number of working is incorrect.  Apart from numbers and computations, Nahas warned that the recent decree will have social repercussions on the daily worker who now suffers from the losses accrued due to deduction of holidays, Sundays and unpaid leave (amounting to 90 days every year). Likewise, the Independent Trade Union Current of Lebanon supported Nahas viewpoint, describing the present labor minister’s move as ambiguous and unprecedented, because, it argued, the wage of the daily worker is not structurally linked to the minimum wage because of different working conditions. According to 2009 data of Central Statistics Department, more than 10.2 % of the local workforce of the he country represents daily laborers. (Al Akhbar, Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, July 22, 2016)

  

 

In its edition of today, An Nahar newspaper shed light on Junyeh city readiness to remove some of the troubles affecting its tourism sector, and this by the construction of two harbors, one already existing and located near the Navy Barracks but not operational, and the second is massive and will be built next to Portemilio Resort with an anticipated capacity to accommodate ships sailing in the Mediterranean. In this regard, An Nahar spoke to Fadi Fayyad, general director of the ‘Friends of the City” association, who confirmed that the new facility, designed by the Directorate General of Land and Maritime Transport, is intended to become one of the best touristic docklands in the Mediterranean basin, while generating about a thousand jobs. The new seaport that is expected to cost  USD 80 million, will be able to put Lebanon on the sea cruising touristic map, according to Fayyad, who disclosed that the Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports has mentioned that it will contribute a USD 40 million in donation, if the Lebanese government settles the remaining balance. Similarly, the president of the Maritime Firms Lebanon, Jean Bayruti, revealed that the would-be seaport is 100% profitable and will bring back Lebanon on the world touristic map. (An Nahar, July 21, 2016)

 

Despite financial difficulties afflicting the national economy and continuing political disagreement over the national budget, which has not been approved since 11 years (http://lkdg.org/ar/node/15382), the health ministry decided to launch yesterday the draft law on full hospitalization for citizens over 64 years of age. The program if approved will raise the financial coverage of hospitalization services from 85% to 100% at a cost of nearly LBP 17 billion (i.e: $11.3 million).For his part, the finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil expressed concern that the new free health bill could rise the demand for hospitalization and subsequently rise the weight of covering these additional costs on public finance. Khalil refused to make further comments awaiting the actual implementation of the above scheme. For his part, the President of the Syndicate of Owners of Private Hospitals, Suleiman Harun, described the health minister’s plan as a bold step that requires concerted efforts to make it a success, but reminded the government to first settle its debts to hospitals that have accrued since 2000. 

In his response, health minister, Wael Abu Fa3ur admitted the concerns of the Minister of Finance, while pointing out to clear admission criteria that were developed to distinguish between patients who need to be admitted to hospital and those who don’t, and in order to regulate the transfer of patients from the Social Security Fund to the new scheme. On funds, Abu Fa3ur disclosed that theses will be secured from the annual budgetary allocations of his ministry, which are yearly increased in order to keep up with additional needs and population growth. (Al Akhbar, As Safir, An Nahar, Al Diyar, July 20, 2016)

 

Following the ultimatum issued by Beqaa wheat farmers that ended on June 25, regarding the marketing of the wheat crop of 2016 (http://bit.ly/29Ln9iW), the president of wheat farmers in the Beqaa region, Khaled Shuman, warned the government of any further delay on the pretext of inadequate warehouses. This new warning was issued after that wheat farmers were notified of the new conditions for storage which were set by the health minister, and which are difficult to meet. According to the new storage criteria, the harvested wheat should be stacked in ginkgo bags and placed one meter away from the walls of the hayloft to leave enough room for ventilation. In this respect, Abu Fa3ur, after meeting with Shuman last Saturday, insisted that the above conditions are viable, whereas, Shuman noted that the import of the gingko bags from India requires at least 5 months at a time when the farmers have already harvested their crops. As for storage, the wheat farmers’ president maintained that the present capacity of warehouses located in Beqaa is insufficient to store the total wheat production, while reminding the government of its responsibility in finding sufficient facilities for storing. Shuman finally expressed his concern that the present situation may only a prelude to lift the wheat subsidies and to replace them with compensation payments to farmers. (An Nahar, July 19, 2016)

 

The minister of industry, Dr. Hussein Haj Hassan, reiterated once more the need to exert more towards the creation of jobs for university graduates, particularly fresh engineers. Hassan was speaking last Saturday during his sponsorship of a graduation ceremony organized by the three branches of the state-run Lebanese University School of Engineering. The minister called on every official or sect or political party in the country to get at work, especially that the government lags behind in planning, and noting that the public debt has reached USD 72 billion. However, he kept optimistic that the projected oil and gas resources would open up many employment prospects for all disciplines, notably in the petrochemicals, electric, mechanical and civil engineering, in addition to other professional sectors including tourism and food sectors. Haj Hassan pressed the need for urgency in handling the situation in order to generate the desired outputs. “We need nearly 40 thousand jobs every year while we currently create 15 thousand only, which means that each year we have some 25 thousand new jobless people,” the minister maintained, pointing out that this is a major political scuffle. Haj Hassan finally warned that Lebanon cannot afford to see more nationals emigrating or staying jobless in their country. “What we need is citizens who have rights and responsibilities,” he added while concluding by calling for the development of a national labor market plan that will take into account the present imbalance in supply and demand, pledging to cooperate with deans of universities to this effect. (Al Diyar, July 17, 2016)

 

Following the 25 July ultimatum to the government by so-called ‘Civil Alliance for Food Safety’ to form the projected Lebanese Committee for Food Safety, (http://www.lkdg.org/ar/node/15285), a number of civil society organisations called last Friday for a symbolic sit-in at 10 am, July 21, at the Grand Serail during the meeting of the Cabinet. This is the first step for the Alliance to be followed by additional steps when the Committee is formed. The announcement was made during a press conference organized by the Legal Agenda, Consumer Protection Society, Farah Al 3ata2 and Wa7hdatuna Khalasuna associations and attended by some 258 civil society organisations (CSOs). These associations said they have opened a peaceful battle with the government until after the formation of the Committee which is expected to serve as the backbone of the food safety law, passed by the Parliament about 8 months back, after being kept for 15 full years in the drawers of the legislative body. In this respect, the president of the Consumer Society, Zuheir Berro, pointed out that the step is preemptive and is sought to prevent any political manipulation of the said law to break it off. Similarly, lawyer Nizar Saghieh, of the Legal Agenda, stressed the importance of the step in that it turns the formation of the food safety committee and the topic of food security into a public cause and declares war on food related corruption. In the latest developments of the Food Safety Campaign, health ministry inspectors shut down a number of commercial institutions and shops in Saida, Shiyah, Sooq el Gharb, Sh7eem, Zghorta and al Qibbeh in Tripoli. For the names of the closed establishment, kindly visit the following link:  http://www.almustaqbal.com/v4/Article.aspx?Type=NP&ArticleID=710525. (Al Akhbar, An Nahr, Al Mustaqbal, July 16, 2016)

 

The governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, considered the Lebanese immigrants to be a core source of finance through the remittances they send and which historically represented nearly 12- 20% of the Gross National Product. Salameh was speaking yesterday during the ‘Second Conference of Emigrant Economy’ organized by Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal Group in cooperation with the Central Bank, the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL) and the Federation of Lebanese Chambers. In his intervention, Al Iktissad Wal Aamal CEO, Raouf Abu Zaki, pointed out that the transfers of Lebanese expatriates fluctuate between US$ 7 to 8 million each year, representing around 16% of the GDP. Similarly, the conference sponsor, PS Nabih Berri, in his allusion to the latest US sanctions on Lebanese banks, described the “emigrant money as clean, and therefore, punishing the country, its political parties or religious sects is unfounded, and it denotes an act of disrespect of their human right to belonging and expression. He warned of continuing the existing US restrictions. For his part, Fadi Gemayel, president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, said the private sector is strong and initiative oriented with substantial financial abilities at hand estimated at USD188 billion (local banks assets). This amount can be expended in various projects, he maintained, related to the infrastructure and investment schemes, and also to supporting productive institutions and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In his turn, Mohamad Chukeir, president of the Chambers of Commerce, said Lebanon will see a bright period in the near future, based on its capacities and its leading role in the region, and in view of the forthcoming oil and gas ventures, as well as the ratification of the partnership agreements and reconstruction of neighboring Syria and Iraq. In conclusion, Salameh recalled the steadfastness of the Lebanese banks against all economic challenges, underlining the strong purchasing power of the Lebanese pound against European, non-oil Arab and Mediterranean currencies. He disclosed that the Bank has recently adopted a computational finance system which boosted its assets in US dollar by more than three billion dollars, resulting in additional revenues of over US$ one billion for the Central Bank and a corresponding amount for the banking sector. (As Safir, An Nahar, Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, Al Hayat, Al Akhbar, July 15, 2016)

 

The Minister of Labor, Sajaan Azzi, said that he hoped that the solidarity shown recently between the economic circles and the general trade union will generate serious action to protect the Lebanese workforce from foreign competition, particularly, from displaced Syrians working in the country. Azzi was speaking during a ceremony organized by the Federation of Lebanese Chambers in honor of the National Federation of Trade Unions, Ghassan Ghosn, on his election as general director of the International Federation of Arab Trade Unions. Azzi claimed that Syrian presence in the country has all the characteristics of economic migration rather than of displacement because of security reasons. The minister went on to say that, as a result of this, the present problem is no longer confined to competition between the Lebanese and Syrian working forces but transcend this matter to posing a threat to Lebanese businesses. This, he maintained, is clearly demonstrated in the random establishments founded by Syrian nationals at a time domestic-owned businesses are shutting down because of the declining economic situation. He closed his statement with a show of appreciation to the Prime Minister, Tamam Salam’s rational and firm handling of the situation, and an appeal to the international community to find a genuine solution to the refugee crisis in the country. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, July 14, 2016)