General Directorate of the Finance Ministry, in the Palace of Justice district in Beirut, on Nov. 15, 2025. (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/L’Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — The Federation of Public Sector Unions, representing civilian and military workers, called on the government and Parliament Friday, Feb. 13, to honor promises on pay, pensions, and contract worker compensation.
During the parliamentary debate on the 2026 budget at the end of January, the government pledged to present, by mid-February, a proposal for increasing public sector wages.
According to sources close to the matter, the Finance Ministry is reviewing a proposal to grant public sector employees a raise equivalent to four to six additional monthly salaries, paid in Lebanese pounds.
Under this plan, the amounts would be paid exclusively via credit cards, with no cash withdrawal option, and could be used only for electronic payments and purchases.
Since the onset of the crisis in 2019, the salaries of public sector employees, paid in Lebanese pounds, have been sharply eroded. Despite a series of partial adjustments, their purchasing power has recovered to only about 25 percent of its pre-crisis level, nearly six years later.
Meanwhile, tensions have mounted within the public administration, as the majority of civil servants have not received any significant pay corrections, while employees of some regulatory authorities — especially in the telecommunications and electricity sectors — have been granted monthly compensation between $7,000 and $9,000.
The Federation reiterated that its core demand remains restoring the purchasing power of salaries and pensions to their pre-2019 level. In its statement, it called for an "immediate increase raising salaries and pensions to 50 percent of their 2019 dollar value," followed by gradual 10 percent hikes every six months, along with additional allowances — such as productivity or transportation bonuses — as well as parallel adjustments for contract workers of all categories.
The group warned against what it called "discrimination between active and retired employees, civilians and military personnel, or among administrative, educational, and diplomatic categories," denouncing the granting of benefits to certain groups at the expense of others.
It also opposed any reform that could undermine the pension system, except reforms aimed at improving pensions. Finally, the Federation warned of a potential escalation, calling on both public employees and retirees to be ready to take to the streets "at the appropriate moment" if their demands are not met.
