BEIRUT: Cabinet signed off on a long-awaited wage increase decree Wednesday, hiking the minimum wage by LL100,000 to LL600,000, salaries under LL1 million by 30 percent up to a LL200,000 increase, and salaries above LL1 million by a 20 percent increase up to LL275,000.

But the government suggested that employees who had received “consensual” salary increases from employers since Jan. 1, 2010, may not be eligible for the raise.

The Cabinet also agreed to hike the yearly education allowance to a maximum of LL1.5 million from its current LL1 million level.

The decree was passed after Prime Minister Najib Mikati proposed an alternative to Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas’ salary package which apparently did not have sufficient support.

Only one of the suggestions made by Nahhas was adopted by the Cabinet: It gave approval to developing a “youth support” program, a bid to tackle the country’s emigration problem by helping recent graduates find job opportunities in Lebanon.

Nahhas had suggested allocating LL10 billion to the program, but is as yet unclear how much the Cabinet intends to allocate.

Most ministers favored Mikati’s proposal with only the seven Free Patriotic Movement ministers voting against it. Industry Minister Vrej Sabounjian voted in favor.

The decision will be implemented once the decree is signed and published in the Official Gazette, but it would not have any retroactive effect, sources said.

This means employees could benefit from the raise by the beginning of 2012.

The transportation allowance was unchanged by the ministers, remaining at the current LL8,000 per working day which totals to a monthly allowance of LL176,000.

The General Labor Confederation immediately rejected the deal and threatened to stage a general strike. Head of the GLC Ghassan Ghosn told The Daily Star they reject outright the decree which “humiliated workers and threatened their rights.”

“We will hold a meeting of the GLC executive council tomorrow [Thursday] and we are headed toward announcing a return to general strike,” he warned.

A mid-October wage increase decree averted what may have become the country’s biggest ever labor strike. It increased by LL200,000 salaries under LL1 million and by LL300,000 salaries between LL1 million and LL1.8 million.

But the decree was later rejected by the Shura Council over the illegality of the ceiling which excluded those who earn above LL1.8 million from the raise. This issue was avoided at the decree issued Wednesday which gave a raise to all employees. The Shura Council’s rejection had prompted additional deliberations within the framework of the Price Index Committee in the hope of reaching a settlement.

The Price Index Committee meetings failed to reach a common understanding over the issue, prompting Nahhas to take his own suggestions to Wednesday’s Cabinet session.

Nahhas’ bid stipulated a 17 percent increase on salaries up to LL1 million, increasing salaries above LL1 million by LL170,000 – a figure reflecting a 17 percent increase on the first salary bracket.

The rejected bid also included a suggestion that the government should pay, on the behalf of employees and employers, the National Social Security Fund sickness and maternity fees, relieving employees from paying up to 9 percent of their salaries.

The step, Nahhas says, would have prepared the way for the implementation of a publically funded universal health care coverage for Lebanese residents.

But Nahhas said his proposals would be forwarded to the Socioeconomic Council, headed by Mikati, for further deliberations.

A statement issued earlier by Labor Ministry said it would hike wages to more than specified in last October’s decree rejected by the Shura Council. It lashed out at the GLC for its failure to realize the importance of extending health coverage.

“The General Labor Confederation, which represents 10 out of 26 board members of the National Social Security Fund, had never worked toward applying article 12 [which calls for the extension of NSSF coverage to all Lebanese].”

It said half of Lebanese families were bearing health-care costs and were excluded from any coverage including the NSSF.