iloubnan - Labor Ministry announces Palestinian refugees' employment procedures - March 05, 2011

Labor Minister Boutros Harb signed a decision to organize the employment of Palestinian refugees residing in Lebanon and to facilitate their working permit procedures. He said that working permit procedures will be accepted and processed by the Syrian workers' department at the ministry, which would also settle disputes and complaints related to the refugees' legal status in Lebanon. Further, permits would be granted for a three-year period, renewable through the ministry. In August 2010, the Lebanese Parliament passed a law that provided working rights to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The bill gave Palestinians the right to enter the wider labor market on the same terms as other foreigners. The law authorized the refugees to work in a number of professions that were previously prohibited to Palestinians. Further, Palestinians will benefit for the first time from social security protection, which will be derived from a special fund, and not from the resources of the National Social Security Fund. The law stipulated that several professions will continue to be off limits to Palestinians, including engineering, medicine and law, as these professions continue to be reserved for Lebanese citizens. The United Nations estimates there are 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, many of whom already work in low-skilled jobs without proper legal status.