The logo of the League of Public Administration Employees. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil asked Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati on Monday for a week to study the cost and financial implications of several government aid proposals, on which final decisions will be made aimed at ending the open strike of public sector employees that has been ongoing for over a month.
Here’s what we know:
• “Several proposals have been reviewed, and the minister of finance has requested time to study their costs and financial repercussions,” the prime minister’s office reported following a meeting at the Grand Serail in Beirut of the ministerial commission responsible for resolving the negative effects of the economic crisis on the functioning of the public sector.
• A decree signed last week notably grants a monthly payment equivalent to 100 percent of their basic salary to all public sector employees and retirees, applicable from July 1, so that it is between LL2 million and LL6 million for those still employed and between LL1.7 million and LL5.1 million for retirees, as well as an increase in payments to cover transportation costs, the state-run National News Agency reported.
• However, this support was not deemed sufficient by the public sector, which refused to call off the strike.