Meeting between Yassine Jaber, Midel entrepreneurs

A delegation from the board of directors of the International Union of Lebanese Businessmen and Businesswomen (Midel) met with Finance Minister Yassine Jaber to discuss several issues of concern to the private sector, according to a statement released Friday.

Chaired by Fuad Zmokhol, the delegation raised "the law regarding end-of-service indemnities, the implementation decrees concerning the revaluation of assets, and the regularization project up to the year 2021."

Regarding end-of-service indemnities, the delegation called on the minister to promote a solution that fairly distributes the burden of their funding among the state, businesses and employees. "It is not possible for employers to assume the state's losses nor to pay, for the third time, the price of the National Social Security Fund's bankruptcy ... It is necessary to engage in sincere negotiation and cooperation among social partners in order to reach an agreement on this complex issue," Zmokhol added.

In Lebanon, end-of-service indemnities are funded by employers, who pay a percentage of the salary each month via the NSSF. Part of the contributed amounts was devalued by the depreciation of the Lebanese pound, which occurred after the crisis that began in 2019.

Midel also raised the tax repercussions of the revaluation of company assets related to this same depreciation, demanding a fairer solution than the one currently in place.