Law for transportation fees ratified

Parliament endorses consensual bill for transportation allowances

The Parliament adopted on March 21 a law regulating the monthly transportation allowances paid to employees and workers. Parliament members voted in favor of a consensual draft law formulated after deliberations between MPs Ibrahim Kanaan, member of the Change and Reform bloc, and Nabil De Freij, member of the Future bloc.

The two MPs submitted in February two competing draft laws for transportation subsidies. The main difference between the two bills was that unlike De Freij’s proposal, Kanan’s bill called for integrating the monthly transportation fees in the basic salary when calculating the end-of-service compensation.

The adopted bill states that the employer should pay transportation expenses to his employees and workers. According to the law, the transportation allowances decree shall, from now on, be renewed through a Cabinet decree. The Cabinet is thus permitted to revise the transportation grant whenever needed.

The law also states that employers who provide transportation facilities for their workers shall be exempt from these allowances. The law stipulates that transportation expenses shall not be included when calculating subscriptions due to the National Social Security Fund and the indemnity fund.
by Hanadi Chami