"Working conditions in the Construction, Food Services, and Agro-Industry Sectors in the Beqaa Valley", 30th of May 2019

A consortium composed of several NGOs has recently published a study investigating working conditions in each of the Construction, Food Services and Agro-industry sector the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon.

The study highlighted several human rights violations targeting Syrian and Lebanese working in these sectors. It found that written contracts were a rare practice among both the Lebanese and Syrian populations. Workers in the food services sector (29%) are more likely to have a written contract than those in construction (13.2%) and agro-industry (8.6%). 

The research also highlighted that Syrian workers almost never access the Social Security System and do not benefit from its health services whereas only half of the Lebanese population benefits from social security.

The Study documented that more than 58% of workers are paid less than the minimum wage. and Syrian workers are more likely to be paid less than the minimum wage compared to Lebanese workers, in all sectors covered in the study.  Alarmingly, 21% of Syrian workers and 27% of workers in Baalbek district reported working 11 hours or more per day. Work in the construction sector is more likely to face difficult working conditions...