Al-Gharawi: One million foreign workers in Iraq work illegally

Baghdad , The head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights, Fadhel Al-Gharawi, confirmed that the number of expatriate workers, according to indicators, reached one million foreign workers working illegally. He said in a statement: "The number of foreign workers registered with the Ministry of Labor reached 43 thousand workers in 2024." Al-Gharawi added: "The average salary of a foreign worker in Iraq is $700, while the minimum salary for a local worker is $270, and the unemployment rate for workers in Iraq compared to unregistered foreign workers reached 26%." He added that the percentage of Iraqi workers aged between 15-24 years in 2023 is 34%, and the unemployment rate among them is 15.5%, while the 2022 figures for the workforce reached 35% with an unemployment rate exceeding 16%, while the 2021 figures reached 36.8%, the percentage of the workforce from the 15-24 age group, with unemployment reaching 16.23%, and an employment rate of 35%. He pointed out that registered expatriate workers transfer ha rd currency outside Iraq worth $600 million annually, while unregistered expatriate workers (foreigners) transfer an amount of $4 billion and 200 million annually in hard currency, in a scene that harms the national economy. He explained that the entry of foreign workers into Iraq is through smuggling or through human trafficking gangs or they enter with a tourist visa or they enter through investment licenses as experts and most of them are unskilled workers and most of them are from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Syria. He called on the government and parliament to amend the labor law and tighten penalties on companies, institutions and projects that attract unlicensed foreign workers. He also called on the Ministry of Labor to activate the campaign of decisions (33) related to regulating the registration of foreign workers. He also called on the Ministries of Labor and Interior to launch an ongoing campaign to deport unlicensed workers or those who do not hold an official entry visa or whose entry visa has expired for any reason. He called on the security institutions to pursue human trafficking gangs and enhance security and intelligence cooperation with Arab, regional and international countries to prevent the phenomenon of illegal labor, calling at the same time on the government and the Ministry of Labor to consider 2026 a year free of unlicensed foreign workers. Source: National Iraqi News Agency