Highly Important File Now Available… A Bold Initiative by Brigadier General Shqeir!

: Hassan Ajami

After years of repeated correspondence and warnings directed to the Ministries of Labor and General Security regarding the spread of illegal foreign labor in Lebanon, it appears that this file has finally been placed on the table for discussion, and with greater seriousness this time.

According to information, the Syndicate of Recruitment Agencies for Domestic Workers paid an official visit to the Director-General of General Security, Major General Hassan Shoker, and handed him an official letter containing a request to open an investigation and carefully monitor this phenomenon, which has become a worrying problem on the social, economic, and security levels.

The syndicate explained to Major General Shoker that it had noticed an increase in small gatherings of foreign workers who work illegally, either individually or within so-called “cleaning companies,” where they promote their services through social media at prices ranging between 5 and 10 dollars per hour.

According to available information, these companies practice the work of employment agencies in a convincing manner and without obtaining a legal license, which harms the organized sector and increases chaos in the labor market.

The syndicate also clarified that most of the workers who work through these companies are domestic workers who have fled their original workplaces, and some of them do not have legal residency, which makes their presence in Lebanon illegal.

This phenomenon is no longer just an administrative problem, but has become a direct security and social threat, especially with the registration of a number of small and repeated thefts and frauds, as police stations receive daily complaints related to missing amounts of money or possessions.

After careful follow-up by Major General Shoker, it was learned that an official cable was issued on Wednesday to all Lebanese governorates, including instructions to pursue these companies and verify the status of the workers they employ, with an emphasis on holding accountable anyone proven to be involved in employing or facilitating illegal work.

This step taken by Major General Shoker is considered bold and important, because it breaks the barrier of silence and puts the file on the path of long-awaited reform.

According to Ministry of Labor sources for, the ministry issued official memos to the inspection department to carry out field visits to institutions, hospitals, and sectors that are likely to employ foreign labor illegally.

The sources also revealed a “joint campaign launched between the Ministry of Labor and General Security, in which about 100 members of the State Security apparatus of the Ministry of Labor participate, equipped with cards that allow them to enter suspicious institutions and verify the status of the workers.”

This file is no longer just a union issue, but has become a national file par excellence, in which ministerial, security, and judicial responsibilities intersect.

The Ministry of Labor and General Security are working in a new reform direction to regulate foreign labor in all its categories, while the syndicate focuses on domestic workers, considering that reforming this sector means reforming the entire system.

The recent move by General Security, led by Major General Shoker, put an end to the stage of complacency and opened the door to controlling the chaos in the domestic labor market. The issue is no longer just cleaning advertisements in dollars on the Internet, but a matter of social and economic security that affects thousands of Lebanese families and workers together.

Lebanon needs real organization, and the latest decision may be the first step towards putting a final end to this chaos that brokers have exploited for so long. The Lebanese citizen must also bear his responsibility by ensuring the legality of the labor he brings into his home before contracting with it.