Journal of Management and Economics
5
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jme
TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
5-13
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
19 October 2024
ACCEPTED
12 December 2024
PUBLISHED
06 January 2025
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue01 2025
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
Employing Foreign
Workers in The Current
Iraqi Labor Law
Mustafa Habeeb Obaid Al Imari
Collage of Administration and Economics, Department of Banking and
Finance Sciences,BUniversity Of Babylon , Iraq
Dhuha Dhulfiqar Ali AL-Obaidi
Collage of Administration and Economics, University of Babylon, Iraq
Abstract:
It is one of the essential topics related to
regulating the labour market in Iraq, especially in light
of the increasing need for foreign workers in various
sectors such as oil, construction, and industry. The Iraqi
Labor Law No. 37 of 2015, which aims to guarantee the
rights of workers in general, including foreigners,
regulates them, as it requires their employment
according to certain conditions. The most prominent of
these conditions is obtaining a work permit from the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and that the local
worker cannot fill the available job.
The law also protects the rights of the foreign worker in
several aspects, such as determining working hours, fair
wages, and his right to obtain annual leave. It also
requires employers to provide a safe and healthy work
environment according to approved standards. In
addition, the law obliges foreign companies investing in
Iraq to employ a certain percentage of local workers
while allowing them to employ foreigners when
necessary.
However, implementing these laws faces several
challenges, most notably weak oversight in some
sectors, which leads to some employers exploiting
foreign workers. Some companies also prefer to employ
foreigners due to the low cost of labour, which creates
tensions with local workers. However, the law shows
great interest in balancing the local market's needs and
attracting foreign investments.
Keywords:
Foreign Workers, Iraqi Labor Law, working
hours, healthy work environment.
Introduction:
The influx of foreign labour into Iraqi
Journal of Management and Economics
6
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jme
Journal of Management and Economics
society has become a phenomenon accompanying the
state of development it is going through, especially
after the radical transformations that occurred as a
result of the change in the political system in 2003 and
the accompanying phase of openness at all economic,
political and social levels, which led to opening the field
widely for foreign labour to meet the requirements of
development and cover the deficit in human resources.
Given the steady increase in foreign labour in Iraq and
the security, economic and social repercussions
accompanying its presence, it is necessary to follow
plans and policies to regulate this phenomenon and
reduce its risks.
The right of foreigners to work is currently very
important in all countries. Most of these countries
suffer from the problem of unemployment to a degree
that varies from one country to another. Therefore,
these countries' interest in foreign labour stems from
the necessity of protecting the national workforce
from the risk of competition from foreign labour.
Countries also consider their societies' economic and
developmental conditions when they care about
foreign workers. Even countries that do not suffer from
the problem of unemployment, and we mean the
countries receiving foreign workers, we see that they
do not neglect the issue of foreign workers but rather
pay great attention to it, realizing the necessity of
controlling their labour market and taking into account
managing the social and economic aspect on which the
phenomenon of immigration for work in these
countries
depends.
Accordingly,
the
topic
(employment of foreigners in the current Iraqi Labor
Law) is one of the critical topics that require accuracy
in research, which aroused in us the scientific and
human desire to study it in detail, especially after we
noticed many of the books and legal publications that
we referred to in our study, did not research this idea
accurately and comprehensively. Still, it was a great
help to us on our way to preparing this research
entitled (employment of Foreigners in the Current Iraqi
Labor Law).
The importance of the research
It is worth noting that the importance of this topic
occupies a high position in all countries in their
comparative labor legislation, and also at the
international level, we see the circle of interest of
international law in foreign workers clearly in it, as it
bestows its protection on them through international
agreements that regulate the issue of employing
foreign workers in their rules, because foreign workers
are considered weak groups, which requires the
intervention of international law to protect them and
oblige the countries in which they work to ensure
decent treatment for them, and the preamble to the
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights
of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families,
which was concluded at the United Nations in 1990,
referred to this.
The research problem
After reviewing the research topic, the research
problem emerges that the damage and destruction that
befell the infrastructure and productive sectors in the
events of 2003 imposed on the new economic policy to
seek the help of foreign companies to rehabilitate and
develop the infrastructure and productive sectors in
Iraq, and these companies brought with them foreign
workers for the purpose of designing and implementing
the required projects. In contrast, the private sector in
Iraq has begun to prefer foreign labor at the expense of
the national workforce in many jobs, especially service
jobs.
Research objectives
In addition to the importance of the issue of the right of
foreigners to work in all countries in their labor
legislation, and also at the level of international law, as
it entails great importance in legal studies related to it
in various countries, by stating what is related to it in the
international framework and comparative law, in order
to direct the legislator to adopt the best solutions that
suit the conditions of society and achieve the interests
of the state, and at the same time do not conflict with
the provisions of international law. The research
objective is highlighted as the research attempts to shed
light on a problem that is one of the serious problems
that the economies of many countries suffer from,
including the Iraqi economy, as an attempt to analyze
the reality of this problem and know its risks to Iraqi
society, as it has become a new serious threat to Iraqis,
while providing some proposed solutions that we see as
necessary to reduce this serious and multidimensional
problem or to avoid its effects.
The first requirement: The nature of the foreign worker
First: The concept of the foreign worker.
Defining the concept of a foreign worker requires
clarifying what is meant by a worker and a foreigner. A
worker is anyone who performs work for a wage and
whose work is predominantly physical in nature. An
employee is anyone who performs work for a wage and
whose work is predominantly intellectual or
administrative in nature, such as an accountant and a
department manager, etc. We note that the term
worker and employee were mentioned in the two
repealed labor laws (No. (1) of 1958 and No. (151) of
1970), while the current labor law No. (71) of 1987 only
included the term worker. Therefore, the repealed law
used the nature of the work as a criterion for
Journal of Management and Economics
7
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jme
Journal of Management and Economics
distinguishing between those who perform this work.
This criterion is criticized and most laws have
abandoned it, because all physical work requires a
degree of thinking, and also all intellectual work
requires physical effort (1). Therefore, both workers
combine physical and intellectual effort, and
accordingly, the current law only adopted the concept
of worker. The worker is meant to be anyone who
performs work for a wage, provided that when
performing this work he is under the authority and
supervision of the employer (2). It must also be noted
that the worker can only be a natural person, because
work requires effort and this effort is related to the
natural person (human being), so the worker cannot be
a legal person, because the legal regulation of labor
relations and their social and human character can only
be applied to the natural person (3). As for defining the
concept of a foreigner, the social system means by a
foreigner someone who is not considered a member of
a certain society, and the description of belonging to
the society may be determined by realistic criteria such
as unity of origin and sharing of language and customs.
They enjoyed this description in another country under
the banner of its nationality or not (1).
Accordingly, nationality has the final say in defining the
meaning of the concept of a foreigner and
distinguishing him from other nationals, and the rights
and duties that result from this distinction (2).
It is worth noting that the term foreigner differs from
the term foreign nationality, as every foreigner is not
considered a foreign national, while everyone who is a
foreign national is considered a foreigner, and knowing
this becomes clear by referring to the laws of those
countries (3), and that the status of a foreigner must
be determined according to the national legislation of
each country, so in Iraq, everyone who does not hold
an Iraqi nationality certificate is considered a foreigner.
In Iraqi legislation, a foreigner means every person
who does not hold the nationality of the state for
countries that adopt the nationality system (such as
the Republic of Iraq, the Syrian Arab Republic and all
Arab countries), while for countries that adopt the
domicile system, a foreigner is every person who is not
settled there (4). Second: The basis for employing a
foreign worker and its importance
In order for the basis for employing a foreign worker to
be clear to us, we must clarify in general the basis for
the foreigner’s enjoyment of rights, including (the
foreigner’s right to work), as f
ollows:
The issue of foreigners’ enjoyment of rights has raised
a dispute in jurisprudence. Some researchers believe
that the foreigner’s enjoyment of rights is determined
according to the internal law of the state alone, and the
foreigner’s rights that ar
e recognized by law are nothing
but a grant from the state, and their enjoyment in itself
is not a right for the foreigner. The implication of this
opinion is that the state is the one that determines the
foreigner’s status as it sees fit without being bou
nd by
any restriction (2). As for some others, they believe that
the foreigner’s enjoyment of rights is a right whose
source is international public law, and this right is based
on two foundations:
• The first foundation: The state, when exercising its
authority over its territory, must take into account the
rights of other states, and among these rights is the
state’s right to protect its citizens outside its territory.
Accordingly, the state must determine the foreigner’s
status in it in a fair manner similar to what is the case in
other states. The idea of similarity and international
cooperation requires that the foreigner be enabled
From enjoying rights.
• The second basis: It is based on the fact that the
individual, as a human being, regardless of the state to
which he belongs, requires recognition of his enjoyment
of some rights. The individual is a tangible reality with a
legal personality that accompanies him wherever he
goes, and thus he enjoys the rights that accompany his
personality wherever he goes, provided that the
foreigner’s enjoyment of rights is not free from any
restriction because the foreigner’s right to enjoy rights
and the state’s obligation to observe it is met by the
state’s right to maintain its existence, which enables it
to restr
ict the foreigner’s enjoyment of rights (3 ).
There is no doubt that the second opinion is the most
valid opinion in our view, because it places international
relations in the first place, without which the world
might seem ruined, in addition to being distinguished by
its human spirit, as it shows great interest in the
humanity of the individual and his legal personality (2).
Accordingly, the idea of a foreigner enjoying legal
personality and the rights associated with it, including
among these rights, the right of a foreigner to work or
practice professional activity, is recognized, but
international custom recognizes the state’s right to
restrict some types of work and professions to nationals
without foreigners, such as professions and jobs of
social importance or that are clearly related to the
interest of the group (such as law, medicine, and
pharmacy) and every industry or trade monopolized by
the state, including also industries related to defense
and national security such as shipbuilding and aircraft
(1). In Iraq, the Iraqi legislator tried to limit commercial,
industrial, agricultural, etc. jobs and professions to
Iraqis, while making room for Arab nationals in them.
There are professions that the Iraqi legislator limited to
Iraqis only, and there are other professions in which the
law equates Arab nationals with Iraqis, and there are
Journal of Management and Economics
8
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jme
Journal of Management and Economics
professions that the law allows foreigners to practice
under certain conditions and restrictions (2). As for its
importance, states enjoy a broad right when organizing
the rights of foreigners present in their territory, as
long as they are committed to the provisions of
international public law and international treaties in
force today, which are among the matters that have
become part of the established human rights that the
state may not deviate from in any way, otherwise
international responsibility will result from it. When
the state organizes the rights of foreigners, it takes into
account
several
considerations
(whether
demographic, economic, or considerations related to
security and reassurance), and the goal of taking these
considerations into account is to achieve its supreme
interests and protect the interests of its citizens when
they leave their country (1). Consequently, when the
state allows a foreigner to reside in its territory, it
recognizes a set of rights for him, and these rights
represent (the minimum rights of foreigners
internationally established). Accordingly, the state is
bound to take into account these rights and the
obligation to respect the international agreements it
concludes in this regard, by taking into account the
minimum rights of foreigners when establishing its
internal legislation, and states must respect the
minimum rights of foreigners in their agreements that
they conclude regarding foreigners, and this principle
(the minimum rights of foreigners internationally
established) aims to develop international relations
and exchange technical expertise and manpower that
cannot be It can only be obtained by granting freedom
of movement (2), and we must clarify the content of
the minimum internationally established rights of
foreigners that every country must guarantee for
foreigners wherever they are and that all countries are
committed to towards them, which is as follows:
• The right to r
ecognition of legal personality, because
any rights that can be determined for a foreigner are
not important unless he is recognized as a legal
personality that qualifies him to enjoy rights and bear
obligations (3).
• The rights and freedoms inherent in h
is human
personality, especially the right to be protected from
any unlawful interference in his private life, the right to
benefit from public facilities, and the right to enjoy
family rights within the framework of national laws. He
must also enjoy freedom of movement within the
territory of the country in which he is located, etc. (1).
In light of the above, the right of a foreigner to work
falls within the discretionary authority of the state,
which regulates it from all aspects and stages
according to what it deems to be in the interests of its
citizens and its interests. We notice at the present time
that states are deliberately tightening the issue of
foreigners working in their country by imposing many
conditions and restrictions that would protect the
national workforce from the risk of foreign competition
(2).
The second requirement: Conditions and procedures for
obtaining a work permit
First: Conditions for employing a foreign worker
Work is a right for every citizen who is able and willing
to do it, and in the state it is a right for its citizens
without foreigners, and what is meant by work here is
either in the form of practicing a specific liberal
profession such as law, medicine, pharmacy, and
engineering, or trade such as importing, exporting,
buying and selling, or a specific industry or craft such as
hairdressing, mechanics, or any other work (1), and
some define it as any industrial, commercial,
agricultural, financial, cultural, or other activity that is
determined by instructions issued by the ministry (2),
and the law permitted, for many technical, political, and
economic considerations and as an exception to the
general rule, the possibility of allowing a foreigner to
practice work in Iraq according to certain conditions, as
the previous labor law (3) made all work and professions
in Iraq the right of Iraqis alone and excluded from this
rule Arab workers who are equal to their Iraqi brothers
(4), and it also excluded from the rule of limiting work
and professions to Iraqis (political and military refugees
) If he accepts his asylum in Iraq (5).
As for the foreigner, the law has permitted him to work
in Iraq on condition of obtaining a work permit, and this
permit is determined by a special system with
conditions for granting it (6).
As for the current Labor Law No. 71 of 1987, it has
permitted the foreigner to practice work in Iraq under
certain conditions, namely obtaining permission to work
by obtaining a work permit from the competent
ministry, and the conditions and procedures for granting
the permit are regulated by instructions issued pursuant
to the law, and Instructions No. 18 of 1987 were issued
regarding foreigners practicing work in Iraq.
As for granting the permit or work license, the Iraqi
legislator has stipulated specific conditions that must be
taken into account to grant the permit or license, and
these conditions are as follows: -( ):
1. The extent of Iraq's need for foreign labor in light of
what the national economy requires, and the
requirements of each governorate after verifying this by
the Department of Labor and Vocational Training in
Baghdad and the labor departments in the
governorates.
2. Approval from the relevant security departments that
Journal of Management and Economics
9
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jme
Journal of Management and Economics
there is no security impediment to the foreigner
working in Iraq. From the above, we note that for
various considerations, they may or may not be
allowed to work in the event that the national
economy needs labor. In this case, the foreign worker
can work in any other sector that needs foreign labor
after ensuring that there is no one who can do the
required work from the citizens of the country ( .
Second: Procedures for obtaining a work permit
The instructions issued under the current labor law
regarding foreigners practicing work in Iraq
differentiate between a foreigner who is outside Iraq
and wants to practice work in Iraq and a foreigner who
is inside Iraq and wants to practice work in Iraq, by
taking into account the following when issuing a work
permit: -
First: A foreigner who is outside Iraq and wants to
practice work there must follow the following
procedures for the purpose of obtaining a work permit
(1)
A. Submit a written request to the Ministry of Labor
and Social Affairs through the Iraqi representations
abroad or his official agent in Iraq or through the
employer who intends to employ him on his behalf.
B. The request must include all information related to
the qualifications of the foreign worker, documenting
this information with the certificates and documents
available to him, stating his name His nationality, type
of work, duration, employer's name and full address.
C. The Department of Labor and Social Security in
Baghdad and its departments in the governorates
verify the legal conditions and obtain approval to work
in Iraq, and then the department contacts the
competent authorities to grant an entry visa to the
foreign worker. The foreign worker, upon entering
Iraq, must visit the Department of Labor and Social
Security in Baghdad or its departments in the
governorates within a period of (seven days) from the
date of entry of the foreign worker into Iraq for the
purpose of noting (that he is permitted to work in Iraq
under such and such .....) and completing the
procedures for granting the permit.
Second: The foreign person present in Iraq, and who
wants to work in Iraq, must follow the following
procedures for the purpose of obtaining a work permit
(2)
A. Submit legal documents proving that his entry into
Iraq and residence in Iraq are legal.
B. Submit a written request to the Department of Labor
and Social Security in Baghdad or its departments in
the governorates or through the employer who wants
to employ him.
C. The application must include all information related
to the qualifications of the foreign worker, documented
by the certificates and documents available to him,
stating his name, nationality, type of work, duration,
name of the employer and his full address. It must be
noted here that the (repealed) system No. 30 of 1970
also stipulated the establishment of special conditions
and controls for non-Iraqis to practice work in Iraq in
terms of procedures for obtaining a work permit (1). The
aforementioned system also indicated another case in
which the Ministry grants a work permit to some
persons for the requirements of the public interest, and
these persons are:
(Those born in Iraq, married to Iraqi women or men,
those who have a first-degree relative in Iraq, those
residing in Iraq before (24-9-1958) and continued to
reside there continuously and legally, companies,
institutions and individuals who wish to invest their
money in Iraq for the purposes of economic
development, representatives of foreign companies and
institutions provided that they submit a letter of
representation from the company they represent
certified by the Iraqi representations abroad and also
submit a certificate from one of the banks proving that
all of his expenses and salaries are transferred to him
from abroad (2)). It is worth noting that when
completing the procedures for obtaining a work permit,
the legislation of countries differs in the period they
specify for the foreign person who is allowed to enter
the country in order to practice work. In Lebanon, we
find that the foreigner must submit a request for
approval to the Ministry within (ten days) from the date
of his entry (3), while in the case of Iraq, the period has
been set at (seven days). Third requirement: Challenges
facing the employment of foreign workers
First: Legislative and administrative challenges
The foreigner is governed by a set of legal rules that
determine the rights of the foreigner (4 ), and the duties
of the foreigner before the state in whose territory he
resides and the state to which he is not linked by
nationality but by residence or domicile. These rights
and obligations are basically the least that a national
has, and the exception is that the foreigner may excel
over the national, especially in the field of rights. Some
justify the inadmissibility of the foreigner's superiority
over the national by saying that equality between them
is the maximum that can be granted to the foreigner.
Rather, they find that exceeding this amount of rights is
an infringement on the position of the national and an
infringement on his dignity.
These rules are established by the national legislator in
each country, and they regulate the mechanism of
entry, residence and exit of foreigners. They also mean
Journal of Management and Economics
10
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jme
Journal of Management and Economics
stating their rights and obligations. When establishing
these rules, the legislator in each country must take
into account the principles established by international
custom and the agreements to which the state is
bound, meaning that the legislator of the legal rules
related to the foreigner must respect the agreed rules
(agreements and treaties) ratified by his country and
the rules Customary, which is respecting the minimum
rights of foreigners. Any transgression by the legislator
of these contractual or customary rules triggers the
international responsibility of his country, and the
source of these rules is either international practices,
international agreements, or customs. Perhaps the
most prominent practices required by international
dealings are those that are often expressed through
the principle of reciprocity or reciprocity, and the
applications of this principle differ in terms of form and
subject matter. In terms of form, the applications of
reciprocity
appear
in
three
categories:
1.
Diplomatically established reciprocity: which is
regulated by international agreements, as the latter is
the source that regulates foreigners' exercise of rights
on the territories of the member states of the
agreement. We mention, for example, the Agreement
on the Transfer of Labor in the Member States of the
Unity Council ratified by Iraq by Law No. 64 of 1970 (5
). 2. Legislatively established reciprocity: which is
regulated by the national legislation of the state, as the
latter is the source of foreigners' exercise of rights on
the territory of the state. 3. Really established
reciprocity: The mechanism for exercising rights is not
regulated by international agreement texts or national
legislative texts, but rather it has been settled and
represents a historical practice that has settled in the
form of a common custom that allows citizens of two
or more countries to exercise a type of rights. As for
reciprocity in terms of subject matter, it is also divided
into three categories:
• Equality of foreigners with nationals in treatment and
rights: In this, the foreigner finds treatment equal to
that of the national, which is the best that the
foreigner’s status can reach. Equality can be ge
neral or
specific to a type of rights ( 6).
• Equality of foreigners with nationals in certain rights:
As if an Iraqi were allowed to own real estate in Syria
with a certain area and within a certain location, then
Syrians in Iraq would be allowed to own property with
the same amount and mechanism.
• Equality of foreigners and nationals in a certain
treatment: As if an Iraqi were allowed to claim
compensation for harm inflicted on him in a country as
a result of its exercise of an act of sovereignty, where
the citizens of that country in Iraq would be treated the
same as the Iraqi ( ).
Second: The economic effects of employing foreign
workers on the national economy
The increasing number of foreign workers, which
constitute a large percentage of the labor force in the
market, results in major economic risks that affect the
security and economy of Iraqi society. The most
important of these risks are:
1.
The exacerbation of the unemployment
problem among the country's citizens due to the
competition of foreign workers for the labor force in the
labor market, which leads to the failure to achieve job
security, which in turn leads to an increase in crime rates
(7 ). As is known, unemployment is one of the most
important problems that countries seek to solve and
eliminate, as these countries work to follow various
means to eliminate or reduce it, due to its serious
effects on national economic security, starting with
poverty and ending with deviance and crime, in addition
to its other political, economic and social effects. We
can say that the increasing flow of foreign workers to
Iraq and reliance on them is a major competitor to the
Iraqi national workforce, which ultimately leads to an
increase in unemployment rates, as economic security
is one of the most important indicators of human
security, as economic security is the cornerstone of
societal stability and protection from poverty and
sudden serious threats (8 ).
2.
1. Increasing the percentage of remittances of
expatriate workers to their countries, as these
remittances constitute a drain on Iraq’s resources and
leak a large stock of hard foreign currencies out of the
country ( 9). It is clear from the size of cash remittances
that they constitute a large percentage of the state’s
revenues, and these large remittances have direct
destructive economic effects on the Iraqi economy, as
they cause a drain on local liquidity that flows into the
arteries of the economies of other countries, and at the
same time work to support the economy in the
countries of expatriate workers (10 ). In addition to
strengthening the balance of hard currencies, they
provide an important economic resource that helps to
strengthen the national income in their countries, as the
return from the work of these workers is transferred
abroad to the countries from which they came,
especially if we notice that the majority of these workers
tend to save, which in turn leads to an increase in cash
remittances, which leads to a decrease in foreign
reserves (11 ). 2. Obstructing human development
programs due to the increasing numbers of foreign
workers and the flooding of the Iraqi markets with these
workers at low wages (12). We note that this matter
hinders the employment of Iraqi citizens and their
qualification to meet Iraq’s needs for workers due to the
presence of trained and ready foreign workers at low
Journal of Management and Economics
11
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jme
Journal of Management and Economics
wages at the same time, thus depriving them of
opportunities to develop their capabilities and skills. 3.
One of the most important risks that accompany the
increasing number of expatriate workers is the risk to
criminal security, as we notice that there are many and
varied social problems that accompany expatriate
workers and affect Iraqi society and its cohesion, as we
notice that many of them differ and are distinguished
by their customs, traditions, religions and culture,
which leads to an exacerbation of crime rates (13 ), the
spread of corruption and moral decay, and what gangs
of workers do in committing crimes such as theft,
forgery, drug and alcohol trafficking, indecent pictures
and films, begging and human smuggling gangs, in
addition to the fact that there are crimes of a very high
degree of danger such as crimes of forwarding
international calls and the crime of espionage, and we
can say that there is a type of labor that may be driven
by an external party to achieve certain purposes of
espionage or spreading deviant ideas or to learn about
the nature of the country and the condition of its
people and their strengths and weaknesses as well as
the areas of influence on them. It is clear from the
above that the escape of a number of expatriate
workers and their need for work and their presence in
large numbers and their excess over the actual need, is
one of the reasons for the slippage of some of those
workers who came to work to another purpose, which
is to obtain money through crime and breach of
security, and then bear legal responsibility, in addition
to the severe harm that befalls society and some of its
members due to the crimes that occur, the purpose of
which may be to obtain money as an alternative to
obtaining it legally. We believe that it is necessary to
establish joint-stock companies specialized in training
and qualifying national workers to be a link between
national workers and the market so that they identify
the actual need of the market, in terms of quantity and
quality, and then provide training programs according
to the nature of the work required to be filled in the
private sector, and in all its fields. This matter will
achieve an economic and security aspect, in addition
to being the appropriate alternative to reduce the
occurrence of crimes by some expatriate workers. 4.
The increasing flow of expatriate workers leads to the
spread of loose workers looking for job opportunities,
and their collective presence turns into a hotbed of
crime in some major cities, where population density
is concentrated and slums exist, and shelter
opportunities are available for them to escape from
their sponsors or from the security authorities’ pursuit
of them to implement the regulations related to
residence and work. If there is a real role for some
employers in creating crime through their neglect of
workers, this is not activated from a regulatory
perspective, although it is their responsibility in Iraq to
inform the Department of Labor and Vocational Training
in Baghdad or its departments in the governorates when
the expatriate worker leaves work (14 ). Also, the
mechanisms for tracking those workers who violate the
system do not achieve their purpose, which is to deport
dangerous cases who work for other than their
employers or even to identify their locations. 5.
Increased pressure on goods and services, which leads
to increased expenditures, as we note that expatriate
workers receive education and health services, in
addition to using public facilities and obtaining them as
citizens do, free of charge or for a nominal fee, which
contributes to raising the rates of general government
spending to support these services and goods, which in
turn leads to an increase in the deficit in the state's
general budget ( 15).
3.
6. In addition to the above, expatriate workers
with low wages lead to an increase in the unfair
distribution of wealth and national income as a result of
reducing wages, as we note that the influx of expatriate
workers leads to a negative impact on the level of wages
( 16), as expatriate workers lead to a reduction in the
wages of national workers who are similar in skill, which
in turn leads to an unfair distribution of national income,
and expatriate workers also have a negative impact on
the wages of unskilled national workers. In addition, the
disparity and lack of homogeneity in living standards
and wages between citizens and expatriate workers
leads to the commission of crimes, and the high
percentage of males who represent the majority of
expatriate workers leads to an increase in the rates of
moral crimes ( 17). 7. The work of expatriate workers for
long periods in certain professions may lead the Iraqi
citizen to despise and despise some of the professions
and jobs practiced by these workers and which are
linked in one way or another to them (18 ). For example,
we notice that if the expatriate worker works in
agriculture and the children see that the Iraqi citizen
often works as a manager of the agricultural project, it
may become ingrained in their minds that agriculture is
a lowly job that only expatriate workers do. Therefore,
we see that the Iraqi legislator did well when he
stipulated that the duration of the foreign worker’s
leave be one year and renewed only when needed, i.e.
specifying the duration of the expatriate worker’s work
( 19).
CONCLUSION
After completing our research (Employment of
Foreigners in the Current Iraqi Labor Law), we find it
necessary to end the research with a conclusion that
includes our results after this study of the research topic
and a statement of our proposals.
Journal of Management and Economics
12
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jme
Journal of Management and Economics
First: Results
The issue of the rights enjoyed by foreign workers in
the territory of the country in which they reside has
undergone many developments, which we mention
through the results we have reached, which are:
1. Regarding defining the concept of a foreign worker,
it means (every person who does not hold Iraqi
citizenship or citizenship of one of the Arab countries
and wishes to work in Iraq as a worker in the private,
mixed and cooperative sectors).
2. Foreigners have been recognized as being able to
work in the territories of the countries where they
reside until it reached the current situation after many
developments.
3. The employment of a foreign worker and his
enjoyment of rights have two foundations: the first, in
which the rights of the foreign worker are determined
according to the internal law of the country alone, and
the second, in which the rights are determined
according to international public law. As we have
noted, the second opinion is the prevailing opinion.
4. As for the conditions for employing a foreign worker,
they are: (obtaining a work permit, following the
procedures for obtaining the permit, specifying the
duration of the work permit, renewing it and cancelling
it, in addition to the obligations of both the foreign
worker and the employer, and there are exceptions to
the condition of obtaining a work permit). The
foreigner can work in Iraq if all of these conditions are
met.
5. Finally, the foreign worker enjoys rights in the fields
of work and social security, and international
organizations, whether global (such as the United
Nations and the International Labor Organization) or
regional (such as the Arab Labor Organization), have
been interested in concluding many agreements and
recommendations in this field.
Second: Recommendations
After this study of our topic, scientific integrity
required us to show the most significant proposals: -
1. When the Iraqi legislator issues new legislation or
amends existing legislation, he should address the
rights of the foreign worker and the organization of his
work by referring to the applicable labor law.
2. We also suggest that all provisions that regulate the
employment of foreign or dispersed workers be unified
in several laws that address their affairs, with the
necessity of making these provisions not conflict with
the provisions of the current labour law so that they
are unified provisions that include the employment of
foreigners throughout the country and in all fields,
except for those for which exceptions have been made
for special considerations.
3. Strengthening mechanisms for monitoring the
employment of foreigners to ensure that their
employment is by the law.
4. Improving coordination between the public and
private sectors to regulate the labour market to balance
the employment of foreigners and provide job
opportunities for citizens.
REFERENCES
Ahmed Hussein Jalab - The Legal System for Proving
Nationality - Master's Thesis - Al-Nahrain University -
College of Law - Baghdad - 2002.
Ahmed Mubarak Salem, The Density of Expatriate Labor
in the GCC Countries and Its Impact on Localization
Policies, Kingdom of Bahrain, 2014.
Ban Ali Hussein Al-Mashhadani, Labor in the Gulf
Cooperation Council Countries, Challenges and
Solutions, Basra and Arabian Gulf Studies Center, Gulf
Economic Magazine, Issue 24, 2013
Dr Jaber Ibrahim Al-Rawi - Private International Law, in
the Provisions of the Center - Foreigners in Jordanian
Law - Arab House for Distribution and Publishing - 1986
-
Dr. Jaber Jad - Abdul Rahman - Private International Law
- Part 1 - 1968 -
Dr. Rushoud bin Muhammad Al-Kharif, Population
Imbalance in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries:
Solutions and Confrontation, Arab Conference on
Population and Development in the Arab World: Reality
and Prospects, King Saud University, Riyadh, 2009.
Dr. Saleh Abdul Zahra Al-Hassoun. Foreigners' Rights in
Iraqi Law, First Edition, Dar. New Horizons - 1981.
Dr Saleh Abdul Zahra Al-Hassoun - Foreigners' Rights in
Iraqi Law - 1st ed. - Dar Al-Afaq Al-Jadida - Baghdad -
1981.
Dr. Adnan Al-Abed, Dr. Yousef Al-Elias - Labor Law - 1st
ed. - Dar Al-Ma'rifah - Baghdad - 1980-
Dr Adnan Al-Abed, Dr Yousef Al-Elias - Labor Law - 2nd
ed. - Central Workers' Press - Baghdad - 1989-
Dr. Ezz El-Din Abdullah - Private International Law - Part
1 - 9th ed. - Egyptian General Book Authority Presses -
1972.
Dr Essam El-Din Al-Qasabi - Private International Law -
Mansoura University Press, 2009
Dr. Ayada Saeed Hussein, Unemployment in the Iraqi
Economy, Its Causes - Ways to Address It, Anbar
University Journal of Economic and Administrative
Sciences, Volume No. 4, Issue No. 8, College of
Administration and Economics, 2012.
Dr. Ghaleb Ali Al-Dawoudi, Explanation of the Labor Law
Journal of Management and Economics
13
https://eipublication.com/index.php/jme
Journal of Management and Economics
and its Amendments, A Comparative Study with an
Appendix of Texts and Latest Amendments, Third
Edition, Wael Publishing House, Hashemite Kingdom of
Jordan, 2004.
Dr. Muhammad Ali Al-Taie - Labor Law - Legal Library -
Baghdad - 2005 - p. 144, and also its author, Studies in
Labor Law - Vol. 2 - 1st Edition - Baghdad - 2005 -
Dr Ghaleb Ali Al-Dawoudi - Private International Law,
General Theory of Domicile and Legal Status of
Foreigners and Their Provisions in Iraqi Law - Dar Al-
Hurriyah for Printing - Baghdad - 1976 -
Saleh Ahmed Salem Huwaimel Al-Amiri, Press
Coverage of the Issue of Expatriate Labor in the UAE
Press (Analytical Study), (Master's Thesis), Middle East
University for Graduate Studies, College of Humanities,
Amman, 2008.
Abdul Qader Ishaq Ismail, Economic Development in
the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries and
Competition of Foreign Human Resources with Their
Gulf Counterparts, Arab Academy of Denmark, College
of Management and Economics, 2009.
Muzaffar Jaber Al-Rawi, The Impact of Legislation on
Regulating
Foreign
Labor
and
Reducing
Unemployment, (A Study in Light of Jordanian and
Algerian Legislation), Amman Private University,
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, 2011.
The current Labor Law No. (71) of 1987.
The (repealed) Labor Law No. 151 of 1970.
