BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman reiterated the need for Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas to sign a controversial transportation allowance decree.

“The transport allowance issue must not be left unsettled,” Sleiman said in an indirect reference to Nahhas, who has refused to sign the decree, arguing it would be illegal.

On Jan. 20, Nahhas signed a Cabinet decree approving a wage hike that saw an increase of the minimum wage to LL675,000 but refused to put his signature on a temporary decree that affirms the illegal transportation allowance pending its legalization.

“We call for respecting the Cabinet decision which has traditionally been applied for the past 16 years and has become equal to a law,” Sleiman told a delegation of the General Labor Confederation headed by Ghassan Ghosn.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati suspended Cabinet sessions earlier this month following sharp differences with ministers from MP Michel Aoun’s Change and Reform bloc over public appointments.

Mikati has signaled that if Nahhas signs the transportation allowance decree, it could lead to the resumption of Cabinet sessions.