Syria's finance minister announced a significant 400% salary increase for many public sector employees, aiming to address the country's pressing economic crisis. The increase, costing an estimated $127 million, will be funded through existing resources, regional aid, investments, and efforts to unfreeze Syrian assets abroad. The move is seen as a crucial step towards alleviating the financial strain on public sector workers, many of whom were earning below the poverty line.
Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani meets with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and Syria's newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, in Damascus, Syria January 3, 2025.
Syria’s finance minister said on Sunday the government would hike salaries for many public sector employees by 400% next month after completing an administrative restructuring of ministries to boost efficiency and accountability. The increase, estimated to cost 1.65 trillion Syrian pounds, or about $127 million at current rates, will be financed by existing state resources plus a combination of regional aid, new investments, and efforts to unfreeze Syrian assets held abroad. “(This is) the first step towards an emergency solution to the economic reality in the country,” Mohammed Abazeed, the finance minister in Syria’s caretaker government, told Reuters, adding that this month’s wages for public sector staff would be paid out this week.regime were around $25 a month, putting them below the poverty line, along with the majority of the country’s population, Abazeed said. The hike would follow a comprehensive evaluation of up to 1.3 million registered public sector employees to remove fictitious employees from the payroll and would affect those with sufficient expertise, academic qualifications, and the necessary skills for reconstruction. Syria’s state treasury is facing liquidity challenges emerging from a war. The majority of money available in the central bank is Syrian currency, which has lost much of its value. However, the new government was promised assistance from regional and Arab countries, the minister said. “The launch of investments in the country in the near future will also benefit the state treasury and allow us to finance this salary increase,” he said, adding the central bank currently has sufficient funds to finance the next few month
SYRIA ECONOMY SALARY INCREASE PUBLIC SECTOR ECONOMIC CRISIS
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