BEIRUT: Maronite bishops underlined Wednesday the need to speed up a controversial decision on a pay hike package and called on political leaders to implement a longstanding deal on the disarmament of Palestinian groups outside refugee camps.

The Cabinet is expected to approve Wednesday a previous agreement reached between the private sector and the General Labor Confederation after the Shura Council turned down for the third time a government plan to improve the salary package.

The Shura Council made it clear Tuesday that the government was obliged to stick to the government’s previous decree on the wage hire. On the latest pay hike decision, the Shura Council said the government had no legal right to add transportation allowances to the basic salary, describing this move as unprecedented.

“The bishops look at the fragile living conditions and the soaring prices and warn against being indecisive on this salary issue that has become subject to political bickering without taking into account the views of the parties involved – workers and employers,” said a statement at the end of the monthly Maronite Bishop Council meeting.

Voicing concern about the country’s “fragile” security situation, the bishops called on political leaders “to stand firm on a decision taken during [a previous meeting] of the national dialogue committee regarding the issue of weapons.”

During previous all-party talks, rival leaders from the March 8 and March 14 coalitions agreed to dismantle Palestinian military bases outside refugee camps.

National dialogue, which was launched in 2006, has repeatedly been adjourned as a result of the successive political crises that have shaken Lebanon.

The aim of the talks is to agree on a national defense strategy over neighboring enemy – Israel. But a major stumbling block to reaching agreement has been Hezbollah’s arsenal.

Hezbollah argues that the Lebanese Army is ill-equipped and as such its weapons are needed to defend the country against Israeli attacks.

The bishops, who met in Bkirki, seat of the Maronite church, also urged political leaders to resume talks on a national defense strategy and said security matters should be discussed within security institutions.

This was a clear reference to Defense Minister Fayez Ghosen whose controversial statements about the presence of Islamist Al-Qaeda in Lebanon has sparked an ongoing dispute between the opposition and majority, as well as in the government itself.