Conditions  of Syrian workers in the occupied Syrian Golan is the focus of social affairs and labor discussions with the International Labor Organization

Damascus, (ST) – The meeting held yesterday by the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Louay ImadAl-Din Al-Munajjid, with the Head of the Policy Department at the International Labor Organization, Frank Hagman discussed the conditions of Syrian Arab workers in the occupied Syrian Arab Golan.

During the meeting, the report of the Director-General of the Organization on the conditions of workers in the occupied Arab territories for this year was presented, with the participation of representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and Industry, and the heads and representatives of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the General Federation of Trade Unions.

Minister Al-Munajjid stressed that the report clearly revealed all the practices of the Israeli occupation authorities in the occupied Syrian Arab Golan, which are considered a flagrant violation of international labor conventions and human rights conventions, and the resolution of the General Conference of the International Labor Organization, related to condemning discrimination and violating union freedoms in the occupied Arab territories.

Minister Al-Munajjid renewed Syria’s condemnation of the Israeli occupation entity’s continued violation of international labor agreements and the resolutions of the organization’s General Conference, and its insistence on adopting racist policies and discriminatory measures that affect Syrian workers in the occupied Golan.

Minister Al-Munajjid pointed to the great effort of the Director General in preparing annual reports on the conditions of workers in the occupied Arab territories. He stressed the necessity of working on the basis of these reports to protect workers’ rights and develop executive procedures for their recommendations.

For his part, Hagman noted the importance of meeting with representatives of the three parties, the government, employers and workers, to hear their point of view in order to include and clarify it in the annual report of the Director-General of the International Labor Organization, so that it can be discussed at the International Labor Conference. He stressed the benefit of the report to highlight the conditions of workers and the difficulties they face and the violations committed against their rights.

Hagman also stressed the need to call on the international community to take more meaningful measures for Syrian workers to access their rights in the occupied territories.

The interventions of the participants in the meeting addressed the violations and racist and discriminatory practices of the occupation authorities against Syrian workers and employers in the Syrian Arab Golan, and the deprivation of their basic rights. They called on the organization to pressure the occupation to stop these racist practices and adhere to the resolutions of international legitimacy.

The participants also stressed that Syria is one of the member states of the Labor Organization that it adhered to its charter, constitution, and agreements.

Raghda Sawas