Al-Asadi: The Workers’ Social Security Law has stimulated the labor market and pushed young people t

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[size=52]Al-Asadi: The Workers’ Social Security Law has stimulated the labor market and pushed young people towards the private sector[/size]

[size=45]Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Ahmed Al-Asadi, confirmed today, Saturday, that Iraq has achieved great success in implementing the International Labor Organization’s recommendation to transfer workers to the organized sector, and while he expected a significant growth in the number of workers in the private sector by more than 100 percent, he pointed out that the legislation of the Social Security and Retirement Law for Workers has stimulated the labor market and pushed young people towards the private sector.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Asadi said: “The past years have witnessed the dominance of informal work and the informal economy in many sectors in Iraq. Therefore, the current government has placed the regulation of the economy and the labor market at the top of its priorities, as several steps have been taken to achieve this goal, including the enactment of new laws and the activation of some previously enacted laws.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Asadi added, “One of the most prominent laws that were approved last year is the Retirement and Workers’ Insurance Law of 2023, which focused greatly on supporting the labor sector and the private sector.”[/size]
[size=45]He continued, “One of the most important additions to this law is the inclusion of the informal sector in social security for the first time, as workers in this sector can now join the formal economy and benefit from state support and social security. The government has also deducted 5% of the wages of workers in both the formal and informal sectors, and donated three times this amount (15%) as retirement deductions for workers in the informal sector, so that they can enjoy the same privileges as workers in the formal sector.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Asadi explained that “these steps aim to organize work in all sectors and strengthen the national economy. Iraq has also agreed to Recommendation No. 204 of the International Labor Organization, which stipulates the transition from work in the informal sector to the organized sector,” stressing that “the ministry has worked extensively to implement this recommendation and has achieved great successes.”[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that “the Council of Ministers issued decisions to allocate social welfare assistance to families and youth covered by the social welfare project, which allows them to obtain soft loans for income-generating projects. 25% of the Social Welfare Fund’s capital, which amounts to 400 billion dinars annually, has also been allocated to support this initiative.”[/size]
[size=45]He continued, saying: “The ‘Arzaq’ initiative was launched, which provides soft loans to social welfare beneficiaries, with the aim of transferring them from welfare to the labour market, whether in the organised or unorganised sector.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Asadi stressed that “the Social Security and Retirement Law of 2023 has greatly contributed to stimulating the labor market and pushing young people towards working in the private sector,” expecting that “in the coming months and years there will be an increase in demand for work in the private sector, as the percentage will increase to more than 100% of those currently working in the private sector.”[/size]
[size=45]The Minister of Labor stressed that "all these steps aim to organize the labor market and strengthen the organized economy, which contributes significantly to the state's general budget, given that the Iraqi economy depends mainly on oil exports."[/size]
[size=45]He added, “The government plans and projects implemented by the ministry according to the government program, in addition to adopting the agreements signed by the ministry with the International Labor Organization, and coordination between it and the International Labor Organization on the one hand, and the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and a number of international organizations on the other hand, all of this helped push the Iraqi economy towards more openness and expansion in the private sector, and the transition to self-employment, and to an open economic sector that can support the government’s programs in its project to strengthen the Iraqi economy.”[/size]
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