Private economic institutions call for reforms within the public sector before the new salary raises || Newspapers (Arabic)

Prime Minister Mikati met with a delegation from the various economic institutions in Lebanon led by former Minister Adnan Kassar.  The delegation submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister regarding the implications of salary raises on the Lebanese economy.  The delegation pointed out to the urgent need to address the wrongs caused by the salary increases which, according to them, will cost the treasury some 61 billion LBP every month.

The economic institutions called for a number of measures to be followed before any salary raise is endorsed namely rationalizing employment within the public sector, reforming the salary scales so that they are more in line with considerations of competition, performance and quality, and ensuring the sustainability of financing.  The delegation indicated that the new raises in the salary scales of the public sector will jeopardize the performance of the Lebanese economy since its implementation will increase the debt of the national budget from 4 to 6 billion dollars and will increase inflation to around 10%.  This salary raise is also expected to increase the pressures on expenditures of households notably through an increase of 30% in the cost of education and will aggravate the national debt as well as negatively impact on overall economic indicators.

On a related vein, the president of the association of Lebanese merchants, Mr. Nicolas Chammas, indicated that there is now a consensus among the different private economic actors regarding the disastrous effects of the new salary raises within the public sector whilst the current cabinet is seeking a miraculous solution.  He added that everybody is now awaiting the outcome of the upcoming meeting of the Cabinet.