Reports | 22 08 2024
Iman Hamrway
Dozens of Syrian workers in Benghazi, eastern Libya, staged protests demanding their overdue wages or repatriation to Syria, after being scammed by a Syrian company.
The Suwayda 24 network mentioned that: “Workers from al-Suwayda province and other provinces protested their employers for delaying monthly salary payments. The workers demanded improving working conditions after being deceived by a travel agency in Syria.”
The Suwayda 24 network also attached a footage of the protests, clarifying that: “The Syrian travel agency (kept it anonymous) sent workers to a construction company in the al-Qubba area east of Benghazi.”
One of the workers explained that the Syrian travel company had promised them competitive wages, bonuses, and proper accommodation, none of which was provided when they arrived in Libya. Instead, they came to a reality not even close to what was promised.
The Suwayda 24 did not mention how long the workers have not been paid or the exact timeline of their arrival in Libya, noting that more details would be provided later.
In response to concerns about foreign labor, Libya’s Minister of Labor, Ali al-Abed told local websites/sources that: “The government is developing plans to implement the ‘private sponsor’ system to regulate foreign labor.”
He added: “Under this system, local companies would be the official sponsors of the foreign recruited workers in front of the Libyan government, in accordance with Law No. 24 of 2023 on ‘Combating employment of foreign workers in Libya’."
According to a May 2024 World Bank report, more than 25% of Syrians live in extreme poverty, around 5.7 million people, and under these extreme economic hardships, the population cannot secure their basic needs.
Also, more than 90% of the population is suffering from poverty overall, pushing many to seek opportunities abroad in countries like Libya either find work to support their families or routes to illegal migration to Europe, according to UN reports.
Libya remains a major destination and transit point for large groups of refugees and migrants, and the general instability in the region keeps pushing many, including Syrians, to take dangerous journeys through Libya in hopes of reaching Europe, as reported by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
According to World Bank report in October 2022, Syria's GDP shrank by more than half between 2010 and 2020. This significant decline in per capita gross national income prompted the World Bank to reclassify Syria as a low-income country since 2018.