The main sectors in Lebanon are experiencing a lack in Syrian specialized labor that now prefers to emigrate to Europe, America, and Canada, where demand for it is high and where working conditions are much better. In addition, a large number of Syrian workers prefer to stay in Syria rather than return to Lebanon and incur expenses that they cannot sustain.
This comes following the Lebanese Ministry of Labor’s decision to impose entry visas and work permits on Syrian labor whereby workers incur the bulk of the costs because a large number of employers refuse to take on most of these expenses, according to what the Minister of Labor Sejaan Azzi said in several statements.
The annual report published by the Ministry of Labor for 2015 shows that out of 60,814 work permits, 1,102 new work permits were granted to Syrians in the past year. The number of renewed permits reached 1,048 permits for Syrians, out of a total of 148,860. The figures are relatively low compared with the total number of Syrian workers in Lebanon, the fact which reveals that the desired objective behind issuing these permits has not been achieved.
Agriculture: A Big Crisis
According to the president of the Lebanese Farmers Association Antoine Howayek, «The Syrian crisis has caused the Lebanese agricultural sector many problems, especially regarding labor, where some workers have stopped returning from Syria after going there to see their families.»
Howayek added, «The displaced who have come to Lebanon after the crisis have increased the number of Syrian workers in Lebanon but the number of specialists in agriculture has dropped significantly while the number of those willing to work in any field in search of a livelihood to meet their needs and those of their families has increased.»
Howayek explained, «The percentage of specialized agricultural workers has declined over the last five years by more than half,» noting that the imposition of sponsorships, or «kafala», and work permits on Syrians has created a big problem especially regarding seasonal labor, which is the most prevalent form of labor and the one witnessing the most demand. «The demand is mostly for workers for a few months whereas the «kafala» has to be paid for a year.»
Howayek explained that the bulk of the specialized workers have an illegal status, as more than 70% of them are without work permits, which hinders their movement between regions for fear of being arrested, noting that «there is a decline in Syrians coming to work in agriculture in comparison with the past, since those who work in agriculture also work in the construction sector, which has raised the level of wages in the sector as a whole. In addition, there is increased the interest of Syrian workers in artisanal handicraft.»
According to Howayek, «The cost has increased in recent years by roughly 50 percent compared to previous levels, this has been caused by the closing down of land transport and the high cost of export by sea, which has led to great stagnation across the sector.» The sector has seen a decline as a whole (exports and revenues) at the end of 2015 by 37 percent over 2014.
The Archaeology Sector: A Good Situation
The decline in the agricultural sector was not paralleled in the archaeological sector, which relies greatly on a Syrian workforce.
Informed sources in the Ministry of Culture explained that the number of Syrian workers in comparison to the total number of workers in the archaeological sector is very high, as the Directorate of Antiquities encourages Syrian workers to come to the sector, and they come in second place in terms of importance after Lebanese workers. They are also given preference compared to other nationalities working in this sector.
The source explained that excavation works are divided into two parts: regular and specialized, noting that the sector has not seen any problems or complaints lately in either category.
Although he denied that any statistical data is available on the workers in the sector, he said that the situation was very acceptable, noting that the worker crews in the archaeological sector were not of the same size as those of the agricultural sector, since the archaeological sector is very small in comparison and its crews usually number in the dozens and not in the thousands.
Industry: Lebanon is a Stop for Specialized Labor
The former head of the Association of Industrialists, and also the former Minister of Tourism, Fadi Abboud, in turn, denied any crisis at the level of the regular workers in the sectors of construction, agriculture, and industry in general, where the number of these workers is very high. However, the crisis begins to emerge noticeably among technicians and machinists (such as lathe machinists) specializing in industrial machinery.
Abboud pointed out that immigration is open to specialists more than any other workers, noting that a large part of these, especially engineers, have emigrated to Europe, and Germany in particular, and some to America and Canada.
Abboud explained that there is a global shortage in «molds sorters» in factories, indicating that specialized labor has been coming to Lebanon lately as a temporary stop for a few months, waiting for their paperwork to be completed and submitted to an embassy as global demand is very high for such skills.
Abboud pointed out that the salaries of workers are on the rise especially those of technicians, which brings up production costs to a large extent, explaining that this shortage is not limited to Syrian workers but also applies to Lebanese technicians.
Abboud identified the shortage at the level of the mechanical industry and the molding industry in particular, noting that the industrial sector situation differs to a large degree from other sectors.
Abboud said, «The misfortunes of some are the fortunes of others. The Syrian crisis has had positive repercussions on some industries. But government policies have disrupted these benefits, especially when it comes to the high cost of shipping by sea, which increased by almost half in comparison with land transport.» According to Abboud too, this was due to the «port’s thefts».
He pointed out that the benefits came down in the increased demand for Lebanese industries in Lebanon, due to the increase in the number of residents and the increase for them in the Arab world, noting the decline in a fierce competition that Syrian factories once posed for Lebanese factories.