BEIRUT: The national trade unions federation Tuesday reiterated its demands for the government to implement a series of reforms to help low-income families amid a sharp rise in commodity prices.

The federation, headed by its president Castro Abdallah, asked the recently appointed Cabinet to raise the minimum wage by LL700,000, an almost 60 percent increase.

“[The union] asked for an immediate increase in salaries and an adjustment of the minimum wage to LL1,200,000 and the elimination of fuel and oil taxes and fees,” the union said in a statement.

In 2008, the government raised the minimum wage by LL150,000, the first adjustment since 1996, despite calls by trade unions to adjust the increase to almost LL900,000.

Inflation and consumer prices in Lebanon have been on a gradual rise, with the Central Statistics office reporting in June that consumer prices saw their highest May rise on record last month, increasing by 16.2 percent year-on-year, with inflation rising by 5.6 percent in the same period.

The figures also show that prices of water, electricity, fuel increased in March by 2.5 percent, in April by 0.1 percent and in May by 0.5 percent.

The federation asked the government to end policies that are negatively affecting the working class and criticized the lack of a supervisory body to monitor price manipulation.

One of the demands of the federation was the tying of wages to the rate of inflation to better adjust salaries according to fluctuations, as they voiced concern about the inability of low-income families to own houses and rent apartments.

The federation also asked the government to strengthen the country’s public transport sector and protect it from private companies.

In its recent policy statement, the government promised it would “place great importance on social welfare projects based on social rights, especially for low-income families,” without specifying what this would entail

“It will work to secure public transportation for passengers that is continuous, and serves various parts of the country, with the participation of the public and private sectors,” the statement, released on July 1, said.

Following five months of political paralysis, which, along with regional instability, contributed to the country’s deteriorating economic conditions, the new government headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati is in for a big challenge.