REPORT: UCC says official exams will not be held if parliamentary committee’s formula is passed

The Union Coordinating Committee called Thursday on Speaker Nabih Berri to reconsider the decision issued by the parliamentary sub-committee tasked with discussing the pay scale, noting that this decision goes against the rights of the employees and affects state institutions.

During a press conference held at the Education Ministry, the UCC said that it issued a recommendation, requesting the abstention from holding the official exams in case the parliamentary committee’s formula is passed.

The committee called for a wide participation in Wednesday’s rally, which is set to kick off from outside the Association of Banks in Lebanon headquarters in Beirut, towards the Riad al-Solh Square.

The UCC, a coalition of private and public school teachers and public sector employees, had called for massive participation in the march in an attempt to exert pressure on the parliament to pass the new wage scale.

It resumed its movements a couple of weeks ago calling on the authorities to pass the pay scale, which stipulates a wage hike.

The decision to revive movements came as a result of the failure of the Joint Parliamentary Committees to resolve the dispute on the Value Added Tax in a proposal aimed at securing the funds for the salary scale that was approved by former Prime Minister Najib Mikati's cabinet.

Former PM Mikati's cabinet endorsed the new salary scale for public employees in 2012, ending a long dispute that had triggered several sit-ins and strikes held by the UCC.

President Michel Sleiman signed the decree mid-June 2013 and it was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committees for further examination, however the law was never passed.