Marginalisation, Discrimination, Economic Collapse, Devaluation and Covid-19: Prospects for Palestinian Refugee Employment in Lebanon
The unemployment rate of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has fluctuated over the years. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the lowest recorded level was 6.9% in 1980. Prior to the massive influx of Syrian Refugees between 2012 and 2014 resulting from the onset of the Syrian conflict in March 2011, the highest level of unemployment reached was 17.0% in 1999. The rate decreased to 10.0% in 2006 and further to 8.1% in 2011. However, according to a survey undertaken by the American University of Beirut (AUB) in 2015, unemployment rose to unprecedented levels of 23.2%.[1] Moreover, the unemployment spell increased to 9.3 months in 2015 from a duration of 6 months in 2012.
ILO numbers in 2010 stated that 67% of the Palestinian refugees were of working age (15-years-old and above). Of those, only 42% were in the labour force, with 92% of them were working. Of those who were working, 78% were working full-time (35 hours per week or more). Moreover, 32% were self-employed, within camp-premises as authorized by the law, and 48% were wage labourers. Most wage labourers work in the informal market in low-skilled jobs; they are underpaid, exposed to severe and exploitive working conditions, lack healthcare and leave benefits, and are subjected to insecurities of payment and continuity.
Labour market challenges faced by Palestinian refugees were not limited to competition with the Syrian refugee work labour force but differed with the variations in the Lebanese labour law; the latest of which was the ministerial decree announced in June 2019 that banned ‘illegal foreign workers’ in Lebanon. The decision did not exempt Palestinian refugees, who are classified as ‘foreigners’ despite their permanent residency in Lebanon. A substantial number of Palestinian refugees lost their jobs on account of the newly issued regulation. Wajdi, a Palestinian from the Beddawi camp in the North, who used to work at a computer services company in Minieh in Tripoli, was fired because the Ministry of Labour threatened his employer to shut down the company if it continued to employ people with no work permits. Tarek, a Palestinian mechanical engineer from Nahr al-Bared, who worked in a F&B company in Bshamoun in Aley, lost his job after the announcement of the decree as neither he, nor his employer, were able to finance the permit.
Moreover, as the damage caused by the decision of the Ministry of Labour subsided, the Lebanese protests began prompting a nationwide plunge in economic activity. The political turbulence in the country, the devaluation of the Lebanese Pound in the informal market and the restrictions imposed on bank transactions threatened the existence of institutions. In the aftermath of the demonstrations and roadblocks, unemployment and underemployment rose substantially.
As surviving institutions were trying to recover and move on, the threat of Covid-19 became manifest. Soon after the announcement of the first infected person in Lebanon, the Cabinet imposed a countrywide lockdown with exceptions for only a limited number institutions such as pharmacies and food shops. As a result, many jobs were suspended, and a considerable number of employees eventually lost their jobs because of the downsizing or closure of businesses. Moreover, jobs with opportunities for wage labourers halted during that period and daily-workers lost their source of income. As a sizable portion of the Palestinian labour force belonged to that category, the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown was substantial.
Ayman, a Palestinian resident of the Beddawi camp, was an accountant at a tyre company in Tripoli. The company suspended its operations to adhere to the lockdown decree but as it resumed its activity, it reduced its staff because of the drop in its output. As a result, Ayman lost his job. Mohammed, a Palestinian construction worker from Nahr al-Bared, used to work at a construction company in Beirut. Construction works halted for around 2 months, but Mohammed left his job after building activities resumed because his daily wage was no longer sufficient for his expenses as the Lebanese Pound devaluated further and prices of goods increased considerably.
The damage was not limited to wage workers, as the devaluation of the local currency associated with the lockdown measures threatened the self-employed. The beginning of June marked the closure of many shops and institutions across the camps which were unable to restock, especially in the Maashouq gathering in Tyre and the Nahr al-Bared camp in the North.
The vulnerability of the Palestinian community and the lack of supporting organisations threatened the resilience of the refugees in the face of the harsh economic conditions they have been facing over the past year. Job opportunities with appropriate working conditions are an essential safeguard and guarantee of a dignified life for a vulnerable and marginalized community. Suitable employment prospects are a buffer against the appeal of criminality, violence, extremism and destructive coping mechanisms (such as drug or alcohol abuse). Additionally, the availability of appropriate work opportunities brightens the outlook for the future of students, by encouraging them to pursue better and higher education, which in turn fortifies susceptible adolescents against pervasive negative influences, apathy and despair.
The deteriorating economic conditions and scarcity of jobs in the Palestinian camps has already been reflected in an increase in armed clashes, drug trafficking and drug use, theft and negative coping mechanisms. To promote community resilience, social cohesion and hope, it is imperative to provide the working-age population with job opportunities to sustain their livelihoods and revitalize and sustain economic life in the camps.
[1] The rate and discussion focus on Palestinian refugees from Lebanon (PRL). The unemployment rate of Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS) in 2015 recorded an alarming level of 52.5%.