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Lebanese Government Raises Minimum Wage, Public Sector Salaries
Lebanon’s official minimum wage has been significantly raised, from 2.6 million to 9 million Lebanese Lira in an effort to catch the country’s policies with the continued deterioration of the national currency and economy. The caretaker cabinet of Prime Minister Najib Mikati met yesterday in a marathon session, passing significant decisions regarding public and private sector pay. This is the first cabinet meeting since PM Mikati had to walk back his decision to change Lebanon’s timezone.
For the public sector, the cabinet announced that public employees and civil servants will see their compensation quadruple starting May 2023, with the minimum bar raised to 8,000,000 L.L and the maximum capped at 50,000,000 L.L. per month. To benefit from this, employees will have to be present at work for at least 14 days in a month. These raises are set for all public sector wages, including the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces.
The government has also announced that it intends to increase the transport compensation allowance, raising it to 450,000 per day for the public sector and 250,000 for the private sector, up from 95,000 L.L previously. Minister of Information Ziad Makari claimed that they would be working toward raising the private allowance to 450,000 too.
Outside of pay matters, the cabinet also considered other pressing matters around the country. The LibanPost tender, which has been going on for around a year and was said to be won by CMA CGM earlier in the month, is set to be repeated, with the government also considering taking the logistics company under its direct control until the matter is resolved. Further, the Ministry of Interior has been tasked with coming up with a new date for municipal elections after the Lebanese Parliament extended all local councils and officials’ mandates for another year on Monday. The cabinet also decided to grant Lebanese citizenship to basketball player Omari Spellman, to ensure he would be eligible for Lebanon’s campaign in the 2023 World Cup.
It is still unclear if these decisions will all be fully implemented, and how the fickle currency exchange rate will react to the news. We will keep you updated as things progress.
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1/5 .#مجلس_الوزراء # pic.twitter.com/rGRJIQlEoR
— @grandserail) April 18, 2023
For the public sector, the cabinet announced that public employees and civil servants will see their compensation quadruple starting May 2023, with the minimum bar raised to 8,000,000 L.L and the maximum capped at 50,000,000 L.L. per month. To benefit from this, employees will have to be present at work for at least 14 days in a month. These raises are set for all public sector wages, including the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces.
The government has also announced that it intends to increase the transport compensation allowance, raising it to 450,000 per day for the public sector and 250,000 for the private sector, up from 95,000 L.L previously. Minister of Information Ziad Makari claimed that they would be working toward raising the private allowance to 450,000 too.
Outside of pay matters, the cabinet also considered other pressing matters around the country. The LibanPost tender, which has been going on for around a year and was said to be won by CMA CGM earlier in the month, is set to be repeated, with the government also considering taking the logistics company under its direct control until the matter is resolved. Further, the Ministry of Interior has been tasked with coming up with a new date for municipal elections after the Lebanese Parliament extended all local councils and officials’ mandates for another year on Monday. The cabinet also decided to grant Lebanese citizenship to basketball player Omari Spellman, to ensure he would be eligible for Lebanon’s campaign in the 2023 World Cup.
It is still unclear if these decisions will all be fully implemented, and how the fickle currency exchange rate will react to the news. We will keep you updated as things progress.
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