Labor Minister criticizes “laziness” and calls for less ‘Syrianization’ of the labor market

The Labor Minister Sajaan Azzi headed a meeting on November 13 of the Sustained Dialogue Committee which comprises representatives of the government, the economic associations and the general trade union, in order to discuss foreign workforce competition. Azzi, while calling for ending what he termed the “Syrianization’ and ‘foreignization’ of the domestic labor market, criticized the Lebanese labor force for its laziness, pointing that 25% of the unemployed Lebanese “do not take pains to find a job”. He pressed for better coordination between the various production sectors and the National Employment Office. Likewise, the Sustained Dialogue Committee urged Parliament to accelerate the endorsement of two draft laws related to the pension plan and the post retirement social and health benefits for state employees. The Committee also demanded the expansion of the health coverage to include new segments of society, notably, employers. 

In the same vein, the Business Administration School at La Sagesse University, hosted yesterday the First Vice-Governor at Banque Du Liban, Raed Sharafeddine, to lecture on ‘Recruitment in Lebanon: Challenges and Opportunities’, where he underscored the importance of education as the essential catalyst of economy, particularly of the knowledge economy. Sharafeddine stressed the need to adopt new business concepts that will motivate youth entrepreneurship, especially with the generous funding prospects available in the form of loans subsidized through the Central Bank or through the launch of new projects in the field of technology, in collaboration with the commercial banking institutions. (Al-Nahar & Al-Diyar 14, 25 November 2015)