Thursday, October 16, 2003
No jobs for you, Iraq!
US sub-contractors are importing cheap migrant labour from south Asia to Iraq, despite high local unemployment and complaints from Iraqi contractors that they are being overlooked by the US-led administration in Baghdad.
US officials in the Iraqi capital say that six months into their occupation of Iraq, security conditions have forced companies to turn to south Asian labour to implement contracts, from prison-building to catering for US troops.
Recent weeks have seen unrest in several major cities, including the capital Baghdad, amid rising anger at Iraq's high unemployment rate.
"We don't want to overlook Iraqis, but we want to protect ourselves," says Colonel Damon Walsh, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority's procurement office. "From a force protection standpoint, Iraqis are more vulnerable to a bad guy influence."
US troops and some companies under contract to the US government nevertheless seem prepared to take the "risk".
Iraqis form the bulk of the workforce for reconstructing Iraq's prisons. General Janis Karpinski, who is overseeing the prison programme, says she has had "no single security incident" involving Iraqi contractors.
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The potential for ill-feeling nevertheless remains. "US contractors are importing labour and expatriating the benefits," says Hakim Awad, an Iraqi construction manager who queues for contracts outside Baghdad Airport every day. "Where's the benefit accruing to Iraq?"
Under a new Iraqi investment law, foreigners can own companies in full and export all the profits. US officials say they encourage firms to employ Iraqis but do not stipulate a minimum percentage for Iraqi employees.
More.
posted by chris at 3:07 PM
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