MOLSA: Most of the foreign labors in Iraq are illegal

INA - BAGHDAD 

Ministry of Labors and Social Affairs - MOLSA confirmed on Monday, that most of the foreign labors in Iraq are illegal, while indicating that 100.000 permits have been granted to foreign labors since 2012.

"Foreign employment greatly affects local employment as in the simplest work, we find foreign workers," said the Director-General of the Department of Labor and Vocational Training in MOLSA, Raed Jabbar Bahidh, in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency INA.

He noted that "most of the foreign labors in Iraq are illegal, and the Ministry of Interior made a series of campaigns to expel them and prevent them from entering Iraq."

"The Ministry regulates the entry of foreign workers by issuing work permits to those wishing to work in Iraq, and we compare the database and work to limit the entry of foreign workers, but granting a visa is in the hands of the Ministry of Interior," he explained. 

Bahidh added, "The Ministry since 2012 until now has given permits to foreign workers, amounting to only 100.000, as these are legitimate workers, and the ministry is following up and know their whereabouts."