DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar Assad ordered Monday a 50-percent pay rise for civil servants, military personnel and public sector pensioners, with the economy in free fall and inflation soaring after nearly 13 years of war.
Assad announced a similar decision last year, doubling salaries and pension payments, while also lifting fuel subsidies.
The Syrian economy has been battered by the conflict that has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 2011.
More than 90 percent of Syrians have been pushed into poverty, according to UN figures, and the value of the Syrian pound has been slashed.
Prior to Monday’s decision, the monthly salary of civil servants had been between around $20 and $40, depending on the Syrian pound’s street value.
A separate presidential decree issued Monday set the minimum monthly wage in the private sector at 278,190 pounds, or about $19 on the parallel market.
The Syrian pound was trading at around 14,500 to the US dollar on Monday, according to unofficial monitoring websites, compared with the official rate of 12,500.
The currency has lost more than 99 percent of its value since the start of the war, when it was worth 47 against the greenback, leading to a surge in prices.
Syria faces a severe economic crisis and soaring inflation, along with regular power cuts and fuel shortages.
The United Nations says 16.7 million Syrians including 5.5 million people displaced within the country are in need of humanitarian aid this year, up from 15.3 million in 2023.
