--- title: "Scaremongering Cannot Conceal the Injustice Inflicted on the Salaries of Military Personnel and Retirees | Ghazi Mahmoud" url: https://ghazimahmoud.com/en/articles/2024-03-13-91105a/ lang: en description: "Every time the caretaker government approves arbitrary increases in salaries and wages, the fears of the economic bodies grow over the repercussions of these increases on the national currency, backed in their positions and forecasts by certain \"economic experts.\" These experts argue that the salary and wage hike enacted by law in 2017 was one of the main factors that caused the financial and economic collapse that struck Lebanon at the end of 2019, ignoring the role of rampant corruption in state administration and the scale of waste, which exceeds the size of those increases dozens of times over." --- [All articles](https://ghazimahmoud.com/en/articles/) # Scaremongering Cannot Conceal the Injustice Inflicted on the Salaries of Military Personnel and Retirees [Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Dr. Ghazi Mahmoud](https://ghazimahmoud.com/en/about/) 13 Mar 2024 · 6 min read [The Lebanese economy](https://ghazimahmoud.com/en/articles/leb/)[Politics and security](https://ghazimahmoud.com/en/articles/geo/) Every time the caretaker government approves arbitrary increases in salaries and wages, the fears of the economic bodies grow over the repercussions of these increases on the national currency, backed in their positions and forecasts by certain "economic experts." These experts argue that the salary and wage hike enacted by law in 2017 was one of the main factors that caused the financial and economic collapse that struck Lebanon at the end of 2019, ignoring the role of rampant corruption in state administration and the scale of waste, which exceeds the size of those increases dozens of times over. According to the economic bodies and experts, the problem is not limited solely to the total volume of the salary and wage increase, but rather lies in financing the approved increases in the absence of domestic and foreign funding sources for Lebanon. Financing wage increases is confined to treasury revenues from fees and taxes, even though it is impossible to calculate these revenues on the basis of the percentage increases approved for them, especially since many of the public administrations that collect these fees are paralyzed or operating only partially, which casts doubt on the volume of revenues that can be collected and consequently raises doubts about their sufficiency to cover the cost of increasing salaries and wages. Other experts also question the accuracy of the cost figures for the new salary and wage increases, which will push the caretaker government to draw on budget reserves to cover the difference. Using these reserves to cover the gap between the actual cost and the estimated cost could deplete them and possibly lead to a budget deficit, preventing the state from meeting any emergency expenditure and depriving it of flexibility in public spending during 2024. Reinforcing these fears is the lack of transparency practiced by the Ministry of Finance, through its refusal to publish the liabilities resulting from the approved increases for each institution, administration, and agency separately. Determining the number of employees in public administrations and institutions and in the military and security services is itself a matter of doubt, especially as some estimates place their numbers between 200,000 and 270,000 employees, while others put the figure as high as 350,000 across military forces and civil administration personnel. This discrepancy in estimating employee numbers naturally produces a divergence in the cost of the increase, putting the total bill for salaries and wages, including the recent increases, at between 110 trillion and 200 trillion Lebanese pounds, meaning that this discrepancy pushes the cost gap to more than 80%. Conversely, any adjustment of salaries and wages must be carried out according to unified and specific criteria across all public sector employees, something the caretaker government failed to abide by when approving the recent increases. Describing the latest increases as arbitrary and illegal is therefore neither an exaggeration nor an unfair accusation, but rather an accurate characterization of an increase that ignores economic indicators and an inflation rate that erodes the purchasing power of salaries, wages, and the increases applied to them. What is required is for the adjustment process to rest on realistic criteria that take into account the state's ability to honor the increase it decides upon on the one hand, and secure a dignified life for employees and retirees on the other. Arbitrary increases that disregard the legal principles of the salary scale have led to disparities in the percentage raises received by different categories of employees, particularly military personnel. A soldier whose salary stood at 1,200,000 Lebanese pounds, or the equivalent of 800 US dollars before the onset of the crisis in 2019, will receive 225 dollars after the latest increase, whereas someone who used to earn the equivalent of 4,000 dollars currently receives only around 600 US dollars. Yet had the salary increase matched the rate of appreciation of the US dollar against the Lebanese pound, salaries and wages today would have had to reach 60 times what salaries and wages were in 2019. Even if it is impossible for salary and wage increases to keep pace with the rise in the US dollar exchange rate, which is realistically impossible amid the financial and economic crisis battering the country, that does not justify blatant discrimination among public sector employees on the one hand, and the failure to adopt scientific and realistic criteria for the approved increases on the other. Discrimination and unfairness are most evident in the increase approved for retirees, especially since it ignores Article 79 of the National Defense Law, which sets a pension at 85 percent of the salary of a counterpart in active service, a ratio that naturally applies to increases as well. Retirees' rejection of the recently approved increases stems from the failure to observe the principles of justice and equality and from discrimination among categories of employees, and indeed stands as an objection to the undermining of the acquired rights of those in active service, which consequently undermines retirees' share of those entitlements under Article 79 referred to above. At a time when the effort to rebuild state institutions on scientific foundations that meet citizens' aspirations and help address the nation's crises was expected to begin, the government's insistence on raising salaries and wages arbitrarily reveals its attachment to stopgap remedies and its lack of commitment to a long-term plan to adjust salaries and wages in line with the evolution of the state's capacities. As for the scaremongering practiced by the economic bodies alongside certain economic experts, it amounts to nothing more than attempts to keep increases at the lowest possible level at the expense of low-income employees and wage earners. No public sector employee or retiree is seeking increases that would overburden the public treasury or exhaust projected revenues; rather, all they are demanding is the adoption of scientific and legal criteria that provide the conditions for a dignified life while preserving acquired rights. This is a responsible and rational demand that reflects a sense of duty toward the state to whose service and defense retirees, especially military retirees, dedicated their lives. It must be reaffirmed that there is a direct relationship between the level of salaries and wages and economic growth, as economic studies confirm, and therefore any increase in salaries and wages built on scientific foundations will necessarily have a positive impact on boosting the country's economic growth. Adjusting salaries and wages also stimulates the productivity of employees and workers, particularly public sector employees, especially since one of the labels given to the increase is "raising productivity," which could help revive state institutions whose authority is fading and whose structures are eroding at an accelerating pace day after day. Financial and economic crises confronted by states often present an occasion to restructure their administrations and reconsider employee salary scales, end-of-service indemnities, and pensions. Today is therefore Lebanon's opportunity to restructure and adjust salaries, especially as salaries and wages are at rock bottom while end-of-service indemnities do not even suffice as a consolation prize for those who spent their youth serving the state and its institutions. Had the government and its pillars risen to the level of responsibility required to address the crisis, it would have drawn up an integrated plan to restructure and modernize public institutions and administrations to keep pace with technological developments, and to adjust salaries and wages so as to realize the principles of justice and equality. It would also have fundamentally reconsidered end-of-service indemnities, though I fear to say they may instead be abandoned under a government that lacks a reformist vision and in which trust is absent. Translated from Arabic with AI. [Read it in Arabic](https://ghazimahmoud.com/articles/2024-03-13-91105a/) ## Published in - [Channel 23](https://ch23.com/Article/152329/التهويل-لا-يُمكن-أن-يُخفي-الغين-اللاحق-برواتب-العسكريين-والمتقاعدين) - [Lebanon Files](https://archive.lebanonfiles.com/2024/articles/باقلامهم/التهويل-لا-يُمكن-أن-يُخفي-الغبن-اللاحق/) - [OZ Arab Media](https://ozarab.media/التهويل-لا-يُمكن-أن-يُخفي-الغين-اللاحق/) ## More on the Lebanese economy [All articles on this subject](https://ghazimahmoud.com/en/articles/leb/) [28 Feb 2024 · Solving Lebanon's Crisis Begins with Adjusting Salaries · Channel 23, OZ Arab Media ](https://ghazimahmoud.com/en/articles/2024-02-28-53c627/) [14 Feb 2024 · Economic Recovery and Salary Adjustment · Channel 23, Lebanon Files ](https://ghazimahmoud.com/en/articles/2024-02-14-06a365/) [1 Feb 2024 · The Budget and Economic Revival · Channel 23, Lebanon Files ](https://ghazimahmoud.com/en/articles/2024-02-01-fea43f/)