Ministry of Finance headquarters in Beirut. (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Officials at the Lebanese Ministry of Finance called on employees on Sunday to "gradually return to work" on the morning of Monday, Mar. 4, to "be able to pay the salaries" of civil servants in other administrations, according to a statement.
The text reported that outgoing Finance Minister Youssef Khalil "recognizes and appreciates" the efforts made by his ministry's employees and "rejects the unjustified campaign waged against them". He said that these employees "work every day to facilitate compensation for retirees who have served the state."
The directors of the Ministry of Finance "hope that all their colleagues will gradually return to work from the morning of Monday, March 4, so that they can pay salaries and carry out operations for citizens." They called "on pensioners not to block the ministry's doors. Because we work for ourselves as well as for them," the text continued.
The latest salary adjustments were deemed insufficient by civil servants, who launched a new strike last week. Outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati had decided to suspend the payment of productivity bonuses to put the issue back on the table of cabinet. This prompted the ministry's employees to go on strike, incidentally paralyzing the process of settling all civil service salaries, which passes through them.
February salaries are still blocked due to the strike. According to a source at the ministry, the payment of salaries for the entire public sector will be delayed even if finance officials end the strike, given their central role in this procedure, which also involves the Banque du Liban.
This article was originally published in L'Orient-Le Jour.