Foreign workers in Iraq exacerbate labor market problems

Posted on[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] by [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

[size=52]Foreign workers in Iraq exacerbate labor market problems[/size]

[size=45]The repercussions of the comment of Pakistani Minister of Religious Affairs Chaudhry Salik Hussain regarding the disappearance of about 50 thousand Pakistanis in Iraq have not ended, but rather opened the door to talk about the problem of illegal foreign labor, which enters the country illegally and moves between cities to work under the guardianship and supervision of employment offices that violate the law. In return, the Iraqi authorities have launched intensive campaigns to search for foreign workers from different countries and expel and hold accountable those who are illegal.
The Iraqi market attracts foreign labor, specifically from Iran, Pakistan and Bangladesh, in addition to Syrians and Lebanese, given the economic openness and the presence of companies, headquarters, shops and shopping malls that need workers. However, talk about the legitimacy of the presence of these workers has not stopped, especially since the security services announce from time to time the arrest of violators of the law, or groups of these workers who entered without passports and identification papers.
Most foreign workers in Iraq come from two countries, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and they arrive via Iran, Turkey and the Gulf States. Recent years have witnessed the entry of large numbers of Pakistanis and Indians into Iraq with visitors to the country for religious occasions.
An Iraqi border guard officer pointed out that “recent orders were issued by the Ministry of Interior to strictly monitor and not allow any individuals to cross illegally,” indicating that “most of the Pakistani workers entered at times when Iraqi procedures for monitoring Iranian visitors were not serious or were lenient.”
Last month, Iraqi police announced the arrest of six Pakistanis in one of Baghdad’s areas who were committing thefts.
Last May, Iraqi forces arrested a Pakistani who opened fire on worshippers in the Adhamiyah area of ​​Baghdad, while they also arrested a kidnapping and extortion gang consisting of nine Pakistanis in the Al-Shaab area of ​​Baghdad.
Last Thursday, the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs announced the arrest of a person who was circumventing the procedures for promoting foreign labor recruitment transactions in the Arabs and Foreigners Department of the Labor and Vocational Training Department. In a statement, the ministry called on beneficiaries of the department’s services to “complete their transactions in accordance with legal regulations and instructions, and to stay away from weak-willed people who follow illegal methods and practices, and to report brokers and forgers so that legal action can be taken against them.”
Last week, ten violators of residency and nationality conditions were arrested in the Karkh side of Baghdad. According to official statements, “the search and inspection operations for violators of residency laws are participated in by the intelligence and national security services, Baghdad Intelligence and Security, the Communications Security Directorate, the Residency and Nationality Directorate, and the Communications and Media Commission.”
In this context, the Assistant Director of the Foreigners Department at the Ministry of Labor, Zaid Al-Rikabi, said that “the issue of foreign labor and its problems occurs in all countries of the world, and there are illegal immigrants in all countries, and their most important goal is to search for work and a new life,” stressing that “Iraq does not accept any illegal labor, and we are working to prevent it according to legal procedures, and in coordination with the security agencies, including the Ministry of Interior.”
Al-Rikabi added that “the Ministry of Interior is responsible for following up on the residency files of foreign workers, and during the past period the government launched a broad campaign to pursue violators of residency laws and arrest some of them,” considering that “the Iraqi Ministry of Interior has measures capable of deterring foreign workers who violate the law.”
Iraqi Labor Minister Ahmed Al-Asadi previously commented by saying that “Iraq has witnessed an influx of tourists from various countries in the past few days, including Pakistanis, but many of them have begun to enter the labor market without obtaining the required legal permits,” considering that this phenomenon “negatively affects the national economy and the competitiveness of the labor market, and the ministry will not hesitate to take the necessary legal measures against violators, and to cooperate between the relevant authorities to ensure the implementation of laws and regulations related to labor for various foreign arrivals to the country.”
For his part, Hussam Mohammed, the owner of a company that employs local and foreign workers in Baghdad, explained that “local companies in Baghdad and other governorates support illegal foreign workers, because they collect money from foreign workers upon their arrival in Iraq, in exchange for protecting them and providing them with work during the first months of their presence, so many companies violate the law.”
He stressed that “ending the phenomenon of illegal foreign workers is done by controlling the land borders with Iran, then pursuing fictitious and unregistered recruitment companies, in addition to monitoring foreign workers by collecting information and movements, especially since some of them have been involved in belonging to organized gangs and committing crimes.”
Since the beginning of this year, the Iraqi authorities have continued security campaigns to arrest violators of foreign nationalities of residency conditions.
According to data issued by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, hundreds of them have been arrested this year, all of whom do not have papers or residency permits from Syrian, Pakistani, Iranian, Bangladeshi and other nationalities, and they are present in Iraq and active within the unlicensed local workforce that the Iraqi government seeks to combat[/size]
[size=45][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]