Labor minister critical of attempts to boost Palestinian workforce

The plan of Palestinian-Lebanese Dialogue Committee (LPDC) to conduct a comprehensive survey on Palestinians in Lebanon to further the access of Palestinian refugees into the local labor market prompted strong criticism by the Labor Minister Sajaan Azzi. Expounding his viewpoint to An Nahar newspaper, Azzi said some circles are attempting to convince the Lebanese people that the number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has dropped to below 300 thousand persons so as to play down the threat of competition by Palestinian labor. “The demand by LPDC to conduct the survey coincides with calls by Palestinian circles urging the labor minister to issue accelerated repeated application decrees complementing the four related laws of the year 2010 related to the social and human rights of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. An Nahar, citing informed sources, ruled such a move by Azzi, at a time when unemployment stands at 25% to 32%. The Lebanese people will “strongly condemn me if I put forward such a request,” Azzi maintained. (An Nahar, September 5, 2016)