And specialists in the Libyan economy offered suggestions in their commentary to the “Sky News Arabia” website to defuse the crisis, warning that ignoring it will not extend to the deterioration of the economy alone, but to the disruption of political reconciliation and the mercenaries’ exit plan from the country, while the presidential elections are only two and a half months away. .
The Oil Workers Union stated in a statement, Monday, that it had seen the recent statements of the Prime Minister and the activation of recent decisions issued in 2017 concerning some ministries, and found that no reference was made to Resolution No. 642 of 2013 regarding increasing the salaries of workers in the oil sector; This sparked the discontent of the workers, holding the government fully responsible if their demands were not met.
According to the federation, its members have, over the past years, stayed away from closures and sit-ins, preferring to negotiate with decision-makers, and to override the supreme national interest, but: “Unfortunately, we received many promises at all levels, all of which have failed.”
This comes a week after the general medical and paramedical unions indicated that they might resort to launching a comprehensive strike – for which no date was set – in all health facilities if the government did not activate Resolution No. 885 of 2019 issued by the former Presidential Council regarding raising the salaries of health workers.
5 actions to solve
Regarding the reasons for the strike in several sectors, Professor of Economics at Ajdabiya University, Ali Solh, said that the policies of the Central Bank of Libya to change the exchange rate led to a decrease in the purchasing value and an increase in prices; This affected public sector employees.
Regarding addressing the matter so that the Libyan economy does not enter a vicious circle, the economist identified 5 measures that the government must take, namely: setting a unified salary schedule and increasing it for all sectors of the state, rationalizing public expenditures, especially consumer spending, increasing investment expenditures in oil and other sectors to move the wheel of the economy, Finding a mature tax base instead of the current one so that taxes contribute to the budget revenues that are now financed by 95 percent of oil revenues, and lifting banking restrictions.
Disable mercenary output
The Libyan journalist specializing in the field of energy, Ali Al-Farsi, warned that the strike of oil workers will cost the treasury billions in losses, especially with the high demand for oil and gas globally and the price of a barrel exceeding $80.
He warned that the matter would extend to disrupting the path of political reconciliation and the ongoing international efforts to get the mercenaries out of the country.
Regarding the workers’ demands, Al-Farsi explained that the management of the National Oil Corporation referred Resolution No. 642 of 2013 to increase their salaries by 67 percent to the competent authorities, pointing out that the oil sector “is still one body despite the attempts of some political parties to exploit it to achieve their goals, and prevent budgets from sector since 2015.
A member of the Finance Committee of the Libyan Parliament, Miftah Al-Kartaihi, previously told “Sky News Arabia” that the best solution is for the government to set a unified salary increase schedule; Thus, the gap between sectors will be narrowed, indicating that increasing it for some but not others will lead to crises.
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