Arm twisting used to regulate the situation of Syrian labor

 The Syrian labor force is indispensable for Lebanese enterprises, especially those working in the construction and contracting sectors. According to estimation by the Lebanese Contractors’ Syndicate, there are some 350,000 Syrian workers in the country. The recent decision by the General Directorate of Public Security to regulate the status of Syrians refugees in Lebanon announced at the end of last year and amended on February 3, 2015, gave rise to many problems and protests. One major protest party, were big contractors who called for a meeting with the Labor Minister Sajaan Azzi to discuss what they formally termed as the issue of “Syrian labor in the contracting sector and the impact of the new procedures on this labor”. The main focus of their protest was the substantial employment fees and charges which they were not settling before and they are now obligated to do so. According to a member of the Lebanese Contractors Syndicate, Abdo Sukkarieh, the total additional amount now due for each Syrian worker in Lebanon is $2,000 annually and that is to cover the issuing of a work permit, accommodation, social security, and notary. It also to be noted, that the construction sector employs, according to the Sukkarieh, some 350 thousand Syrian workers at a minimum, distributed among 3400 companies, of which 3000 companies work in the private sector and 400 companies with the public sector, and that the estimated total value of work carried out by all construction companies is $10 billion. Sukkarieh also pointed out that the daily wage of Syrian worker is $20 for unskilled laborer, and $30 for professionals, denying that the level of wages have declined in parallel with the increasing number of Syrian refugees, and therefore workers. For his part, the head of contractors association, Fouad al-Khazen confirmed that the employment in non-specialized construction jobs consists entirely of Syrians workers.
In the meeting with Minister Azzi, Al Khazen announced that he fully understood the urgency for such extraordinary security measures in the prevailing conditions. However, he said, these new measures negatively impact the construction sector in many ways as was noted in the Syndicate’s working paper presented to Azzi.  From his side, the Minister reiterated the government’s previous position saying. “We are not biased towards any nationality, and we acknowledge that Syrian workforce has always been an asset to many industries in Lebanon before and after the Syrian war,” Azzi stressed the need to exercise tolerance and be sensible in dealing with Syrian nationals. “Not every Syrian is a terrorist,” he said. He suggested the setting up a special division at the Contractors’ Syndicate that will be responsible for following up and managing the implementation of the procedure for all contracting companies in their relation with the Ministry of Labor. Besides, it was suggested that a joint committee between the Labor department and the Syndicate be formed to try to find solutions to arising problems. The meeting came to a close with four recommendations: the establishment of a special department responsible for completing residency and work permits; a gradual regulation of the situation of Syrian workers; companies will not be required to submit all contractual details for individual workers provided that a certificate of membership should be submitted to the Syndicate; and finally, that the process of completion of transactions at the Ministry of Labor will be accelerated. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, Al Akhbar, February 20 2015)