Women group to strengthen cooperation between public and private sectors

The minister of labor, Lamia Yammin, on Friday discussed with a delegation of Women Leaders Council of Lebanon (WLC) the challenges facing the private sector. The WLC, to recall, has submitted a draft proposal aimed at developing a mechanism of cooperation between the private and the public sectors in all arenas, hoping to engage in discussions conducted by the ministry to amend the labor law and reduce the rate of participation in the National Social Security Fund proportionately with the reduction in wages. In a statement to this effect, the WLC stressed the significance of the continued viability and performance of companies and laborers, and the need to exempt employers from the payment of taxes as of the last quarter of 2019 through the year 2020. This measure could be adjusted according to developments, the statement added. The delegation also demanded that daily workers not be registered in the Social Security Fund, but that their status be disclosed only to the finance department, while taxes be paid in relevance to the income tax. As for work contracts signed exclusively in US dollars, in the event of the change of the official exchange rate, they will be calculated according to the official rate assigned by the Banque du Liban, while disregarding the market rate at the date of signing the contracts related to the Social Security Fund subscriptions and the end-of-service benefits. (Al Diyar, May 23, 2020)