High school students from the Notre-Dame College of the Antonine Sisters in Roumieh. (Credit: Archive photo A-M. H.)
Laws on commercial rents and the revaluation of retired private school teachers' pensions, promulgated by the current affairs caretaker cabinet of Najib Mikati, which are expected to be published soon in the Official Gazette by the new government of Nawaf Salam, sparked reactions on Saturday.
The teachers' union praised the decision of the Salam cabinet, "which came after a long wait," to publish two laws concerning retired teachers. It thanked the Prime Minister "for this step, which shows that he respects judicial decisions and the Constitution."
Parliament had decided on Dec. 15 to revalue the pension of private school teachers – now increased sixfold – after it was unanimously approved on Dec. 19 by the caretaker Council of Ministers convened at the Grand Serail in the absence of a President of the Republic. This decision had been condemned by private schools. Under the threat of an open strike at the beginning of January, Catholic schools demanded the cancellation of the two promulgated laws, one which allows "the state to fund the pension fund of private school teachers for one year with 650 billion LL," and the other allowing "the amendment of the law organizing the teaching staff and school budgets of private schools, which dates back to 1956" (the labor code does not apply to teachers).
"This is a first step that must be followed by others, in agreement with the education system, to finance teachers' pensions and revalue them," said the union, noting that an expanded meeting is scheduled for after Eid al-Fitr. "The union is keen to preserve teachers' rights as well as the value of their pensions. It is important to preserve and fund the pension fund, and to increase the salaries of contract teachers," it continued.
Tenants condemn rent liberalization
Meanwhile, tenant rights defense committees expressed their rejection of the law, which is expected to be published in the Official Gazette, concerning the liberalization of commercial rents. They condemned, in a statement, "the government's insistence on publishing the commercial rent law that the caretaker government had promulgated before its departure."
"This law will lead to an unprecedented social disaster, resulting in the closure of tens of thousands of businesses, at a time when the social and economic crisis is exacerbated by Israeli hostilities in many regions," the tenants' statement said. "We call on the government to send the law back to Parliament for further review. Otherwise, there will be undesirable consequences and chaos will prevail... We call on tenants to raise their voices quickly to prevent the publication of this law in the Official Gazette," the statement continued.
The Council of State (CE) recently recommended the cancellation of the decision made by former Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Dec. 23, 2023, not to sign the promulgation and therefore not to publish in the Official Gazette a law on the liberalization of non-residential old rents.
Parliament had adopted a law in 2014 that initiated a process of gradual liberalization of old residential rents and extended the previous system for commercial leases until Dec. 31, 2018. The situation had not evolved since then.
