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Iraq's illegal employment agencies
3/21/2015
BAGHDAD — Zaher Moussa, a producer at the Iraqi Beladi TV channel in Baghdad, has tried to contact employment agencies placing Asian workers in Iraq to interview them about the way they bring foreign labor into the country. He got the agencies’ phone numbers from a website for foreign labor employment and social networking sites, but they refused to talk to him.
Summary⎙ Print Unregistered recruitment agencies in Iraq bring Asian laborers to work long hours and for wages lower than what Iraqis demand.
Author Omar al-Jaffal Posted March 13, 2015
TranslatorJoelle El-Khoury
Most of the agencies are not registered with the Iraqi government," Moussa told Al-Monitor. "They bring foreign workers into the country illegally.”
Moussa has also found out that the agencies’ addresses are incorrect, and most only operate over the phone, sending the Asian workers to the companies and shops that want to employ them. Asian workers are brought exclusively through these illegal agencies, which are widespread in Iraq, before they are hired by other businesses.
In Baghdad, Bangladeshi and Indian workers can be found working in various businesses. They are employed in restaurants and cafeterias, as they receive lower wages and work long hours without complaining.
Ala Alwan owns the Rida Alwan cafe in Baghdad, which is a meeting place for Iraqi intellectuals, where three Bangladeshi workers are illegally employed. Alwan told Al-Monitor, “These workers work without complaining and they accept reasonable wages.” The Bangladeshi workers are paid $400 per month, while Iraqis get $600.
Alwan has previously hired Iraqi workers, “but they complained about the long work hours and are slow in meeting customer orders,” he said.
Iraqis tend not to call Asian workers by their Asian names, because they find the pronunciation difficult. Instead, they give them Arabic names, some of them demeaning, reflecting the sect of the employer.
After the fall of Mosul in June 2014, the Islamic State (IS) captured 40 Indian workers, and details about the kidnapping operation remain unknown. Yet, there were no negotiations to bring them back to their country and it seems the Indian government is not working on their release; they have been forgotten with the worsening developments in the country.
The Iraqi Labor and Social Affairs Ministry estimates the unregistered workers at nearly 150,000. They have illegally entered the country, with the employment agencies submitting forms to the Ministry of Interior to get these workers religious tourist visas, according to Ammar Muneam, the spokesman for the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry.
“The ministry has established 28 committees to prosecute the unregistered workers," Muneam told Al-Monitor. “Once caught, unregistered workers will be referred to the Labor Court, fined and expatriated at the Iraqi state’s expenses. The company that brought the workers will also be fined.”
Nevertheless, Muneam complained that “some agencies are not registered with the government. They bring foreign workers in an obscure way, including religious tourism.”
These agencies often register with the government as travel agencies, making it easier for them to get visas for the Asian workers. The agencies claim these workers are religious tourists and seek to visit Iraq's holy shrines.
“The Labor Ministry has caught six agencies in this regard last month, halted their operations and referred them to the judiciary,” Muneam said.
Earlier this month, one of the ministry's committees visited the Rida Alwan cafe and informed the owner of the violation of employing unregistered workers. He will be referred to the Labor Court in Baghdad that will issue him a fine of 3 million Iraqi dinar (about $2,500).
Alwan said, “The Labor Ministry lacks real control and does not hold workshops to teach the unemployed about the way to deal with the employers and customers.”
Mustafa Saadoun, the director of the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights, told Al-Monitor: “The poor [governmental] control causes Asian workers to be exploited by their employers, and the same applies to [some] Iraqis. There are cases where Asian workers are receiving inhumane treatment in Iraq. Asian workers work for more than 14 hours in many places, and the dormitories provided by the employers are often harmful to their health in the long run, as the temperature is low in winter and high in summer.”
Imad Fouad, an Iraqi worker at a popular cafe in Baghdad, told Al-Monitor: “Asian workers stole many job opportunities from Iraqis. The only difference between the workers is that Iraqis refuse to be exploited by their employer the same way Asians are exploited.”
After almost one-third of Iraq fell in the hands of IS, the harsh security situation led to a rise in unemployment rates, from 13% in 2010 to 25% in 2015. The government does not seem to have any solution in light of the austerity policies it adopted in response to the decline in oil prices.
“There are many people willing to work. This is why we are easily fired from our jobs if we refuse to work long hours,” Amir Abd Ali, unemployed for six months, said. “I was fired from my job because I asked for one day off per week, despite working 13 hours per day for $600 [per month].”
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3/21/2015
BAGHDAD — Zaher Moussa, a producer at the Iraqi Beladi TV channel in Baghdad, has tried to contact employment agencies placing Asian workers in Iraq to interview them about the way they bring foreign labor into the country. He got the agencies’ phone numbers from a website for foreign labor employment and social networking sites, but they refused to talk to him.
Summary⎙ Print Unregistered recruitment agencies in Iraq bring Asian laborers to work long hours and for wages lower than what Iraqis demand.
Author Omar al-Jaffal Posted March 13, 2015
TranslatorJoelle El-Khoury
Most of the agencies are not registered with the Iraqi government," Moussa told Al-Monitor. "They bring foreign workers into the country illegally.”
Moussa has also found out that the agencies’ addresses are incorrect, and most only operate over the phone, sending the Asian workers to the companies and shops that want to employ them. Asian workers are brought exclusively through these illegal agencies, which are widespread in Iraq, before they are hired by other businesses.
In Baghdad, Bangladeshi and Indian workers can be found working in various businesses. They are employed in restaurants and cafeterias, as they receive lower wages and work long hours without complaining.
Ala Alwan owns the Rida Alwan cafe in Baghdad, which is a meeting place for Iraqi intellectuals, where three Bangladeshi workers are illegally employed. Alwan told Al-Monitor, “These workers work without complaining and they accept reasonable wages.” The Bangladeshi workers are paid $400 per month, while Iraqis get $600.
Alwan has previously hired Iraqi workers, “but they complained about the long work hours and are slow in meeting customer orders,” he said.
Iraqis tend not to call Asian workers by their Asian names, because they find the pronunciation difficult. Instead, they give them Arabic names, some of them demeaning, reflecting the sect of the employer.
After the fall of Mosul in June 2014, the Islamic State (IS) captured 40 Indian workers, and details about the kidnapping operation remain unknown. Yet, there were no negotiations to bring them back to their country and it seems the Indian government is not working on their release; they have been forgotten with the worsening developments in the country.
The Iraqi Labor and Social Affairs Ministry estimates the unregistered workers at nearly 150,000. They have illegally entered the country, with the employment agencies submitting forms to the Ministry of Interior to get these workers religious tourist visas, according to Ammar Muneam, the spokesman for the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry.
“The ministry has established 28 committees to prosecute the unregistered workers," Muneam told Al-Monitor. “Once caught, unregistered workers will be referred to the Labor Court, fined and expatriated at the Iraqi state’s expenses. The company that brought the workers will also be fined.”
Nevertheless, Muneam complained that “some agencies are not registered with the government. They bring foreign workers in an obscure way, including religious tourism.”
These agencies often register with the government as travel agencies, making it easier for them to get visas for the Asian workers. The agencies claim these workers are religious tourists and seek to visit Iraq's holy shrines.
“The Labor Ministry has caught six agencies in this regard last month, halted their operations and referred them to the judiciary,” Muneam said.
Earlier this month, one of the ministry's committees visited the Rida Alwan cafe and informed the owner of the violation of employing unregistered workers. He will be referred to the Labor Court in Baghdad that will issue him a fine of 3 million Iraqi dinar (about $2,500).
Alwan said, “The Labor Ministry lacks real control and does not hold workshops to teach the unemployed about the way to deal with the employers and customers.”
Mustafa Saadoun, the director of the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights, told Al-Monitor: “The poor [governmental] control causes Asian workers to be exploited by their employers, and the same applies to [some] Iraqis. There are cases where Asian workers are receiving inhumane treatment in Iraq. Asian workers work for more than 14 hours in many places, and the dormitories provided by the employers are often harmful to their health in the long run, as the temperature is low in winter and high in summer.”
Imad Fouad, an Iraqi worker at a popular cafe in Baghdad, told Al-Monitor: “Asian workers stole many job opportunities from Iraqis. The only difference between the workers is that Iraqis refuse to be exploited by their employer the same way Asians are exploited.”
After almost one-third of Iraq fell in the hands of IS, the harsh security situation led to a rise in unemployment rates, from 13% in 2010 to 25% in 2015. The government does not seem to have any solution in light of the austerity policies it adopted in response to the decline in oil prices.
“There are many people willing to work. This is why we are easily fired from our jobs if we refuse to work long hours,” Amir Abd Ali, unemployed for six months, said. “I was fired from my job because I asked for one day off per week, despite working 13 hours per day for $600 [per month].”
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