Libyan public institutions to run on a single salary scale

A single scale is set to replace the differing salary grades Libya’s public institutions currently run on, with base pay from LYD 1-1.2k (USD 156.68-188.01) at the lowest grade to LYD 4,312-4,912 (USD 675.69-769.60) at the highest. Specialization allowances of up to 70% could also be layered on top, as part of the draft unified salary law the Government of National Unity’s Finance Ministry published.

The allowances decide who gains: Members of oversight bodies get 70%, university faculty and researchers at research centers and higher institutes get 50%, allied medical professionals and armed forces officers get 30%, and enlisted personnel get 20%. Non-permanent staff get no allowance at all, and judicial pay rates stay with the Supreme Judicial Council.

Both carve-outs follow pressure. The University of Tripoli’s academic staff union threatened to suspend teaching outright if the bill cut existing salaries, and the Tripoli Court of Appeal warned against changing judicial pay without consulting the Supreme Judicial Council. Teachers, already in industrial action, want the law passed without further delay. Parliamentary finance committees have finished their review and the House of Representatives was due to take the bill up in Sabha on Monday. Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah said in early October that the scale would take effect with that month’s pay.