Many Syrian Workers Not Covered by Social Security

8-Jul-09

Many Syrian Workers Not Covered by Social Security

8-Jul-09

Wednesday, 8 July, 2009
IWPR

IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

The majority of Syrian workers employed by the private sector do not have any social insurance, the newspaper Qasion reported in its July 5 edition.



The new annual report of the public Social Securities Institution said that around half of Syria’s six million workers were not registered for social security, according to the newspaper.



All those left out of the public social insurance system were private sector employees, the study said.



It added that many hotel and restaurant employees were forced out of their jobs because their employers feared swoops by officials from the social security bureau.



Syrian labour laws make it compulsory for companies to register all employees in the social security programme.



The study said that even when private sector workers had access to the social security system, their cover was based on only 30 per cent of their real salaries.



Many workers in the private sector were also deprived of rights such as annual vacation, medical care and other compensations and benefits, the study said.
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