Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas said that he will refer the wage hike plan approved by the cabinet to the Shura Council on Thursday to get its response swiftly.

“If the Shura Council approved the decision it will be sent quickly to the official gazette so that it becomes as of December,” Nahhas told al-Liwaa newspaper on Thursday.

The Free Patriotic Movement, Hizbullah and Amal dealt a blow to Premier Najib Miqati on Wednesday after they voted in favor of a wage boost decree proposed by Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas hours after the Economic Committees and the General Labor Confederation agreed with minor changes on a previous proposal made by the PM.

Fifteen ministers voted in favor of Nahhas’ wage hike decree while 11 voted against it. Minister Wael Abou Faour abstained from voting while Ministers Salim Karam, Faisal Karami and Nazem al-Khoury did not attend the session that was held at Baabda palace.

The rift over the wage hike decree is persisting as the cabinet is expected to tackle the top-priority issue on its agenda on Wednesday amid disputes between the Economic Committees and the General Labor Confederation on a LL25,000 increase.

Intensive contacts were held on Tuesday by Prime Minister Najib Miqati in an attempt to resolve the dispute over the raise. Separate delegations from the GLC and the Economic Committees met with Miqati at the Grand Serail then headed to Ain al-Tineh for talks with Speaker Nabih Berri.

Premier Najib Miqati’s sources said Sunday that the PM has expressed openness to any suggestion over the wage boost decree after the Shura Council backed it with amendments.

The sources hoped in remarks to An Nahar daily that the cabinet members would take into consideration the economic circumstances when discussing the decree.

Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas revealed on Saturday that the cabinet will meet next week to discuss the Shura Council’s modifications on the wage hike bid in order to issue a decree before the holidays.

“The cabinet will meet on Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss the Shura Council modifications… in order to issue a decree before the holidays,” Nahhas told Central News Agency.

A meeting was held on Thursday between several ministers from the Hizbullah-led March 8 forces as a follow-up to talks earlier in the week aimed at restoring the crippling relations between the Free Patriotic Movement, Hizbullah and Amal.

Al-Liwaa daily said that Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, who represents Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal movement in the cabinet, Minister Jebran Bassil, who is loyal to FPM chief Michel Aoun, and Hizbullah leader’s aide Hussein Khalil held the talks.

The political rift between Hizbullah and Free Patriotic Movement that surged to the surface lately has increased after Hizbullah ministers approved Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s wage hike proposal, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Thursday.

“The conflict (between the two parties) require a meeting between Hizbullah Chief (Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah) and (FPM leader) Michel Aoun,” Hizbullah sources told the daily.

The rally that the Syndicate Coordination Committee called for kicked off at 11:00 am on Thursday heading from Beshara al-Khoury towards the Grand Serail to refute cabinet’s approval of the wage hike decree.

The rally was escorted by heavy security deployment at Riyad al-Solh square, the parliament and the Grand Serail to prevent any clashes.

A meeting was held lately between Ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Jebran Bassil, and the aide of the Hizbullah chief, Hussein Khalil, to set the stage for talks between leaders of the March 8 coalition, media reports said Wednesday.

An Nahar newspaper said the meeting was aimed at containing the rift between them after the Hizbullah ministers voted at a cabinet session last week in favor of a proposal made by Premier Najib Miqati rather than supporting a decree on the increase in wages suggested by Minister Charbel Nahhas, who is their ally.

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil did not deny on Sunday that he had met with Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday, reported al-Liwaa newspaper on Monday.

The meeting took place shortly after cabinet rejected Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas’ proposal over the wage hike.