Foreign workers in Lebanon lose 5% of salary because of fluctuating currency 

In its issue of today, Al Akhbar newspaper said migrant domestic workers have received another blow losing between USD 10 to USD 15 of their monthly salaries (that is by 5%) as a result of the fluctuating exchange rate of the dollar against the Lebanese lira. Al Akhbar spoke to Castro Abdallah, the president of the National Federation of Employees and Workers in Lebanon (FENASOL) who said that such exploitation will continue indefinitely if the ministry of labor did not intervene to put an end to it. This status quo is the result of the mayhem in the currency black market and the slackness on part of the government to control the activity of banking institutions and money transfer agencies. Abdallah explained that before the Lebanese civil war, agreements of understanding were made between the labor ministry and the countries sending migrant laborers to ensure their nationals are paid in USD. Today, unfortunately, there is no legal framework which entitles employers to pay with dollars, or at least compensate MWDWs for differences they pay for money transferal as a result of the depreciation in the Lebanese lira, Abdallah said. (Al Akhbar, September 23, 2019,)