Iranian workers in Iraqi Kurdistan; Iranian government does not issue "work visas"

The head of the Marivan and Sarvabad Construction Workers' Union says that the Iranian government has not taken any action for Iranian migrant workers in Iraqi Kurdistan, but according to him, the Iraqi Kurdistan Workers' Union wants to address the situation of this group.

According to the Iranian Labor News Agency, Mikael Seddiqi, noting that Iran has announced the number of Iranian migrant workers in Iraqi Kurdistan as "between 10,000 and 12,000," said that Iraqi labor unions have estimated this figure at "about 35,000."

Mr. Seddiqi cited "Iraqi construction conditions, the daily increase in the exchange rate, and the labor situation in the Kurdistan province" as the main reasons for the migration of Iranian workers to Iraqi Kurdistan.

According to him, many of these Iranian migrant workers are employed in Iraq “on a one-month tourist visa.” Seddiqi said that one of the “demands of the Construction Workers’ Union” from the Iranian government is to issue work visas for this category of migrants.

Among the reasons why Iranian workers migrate to other countries to find jobs and earn income are the high unemployment rate and the disparity between income and expenditure in Iran.

Although the Iranian government announced this spring that the unemployment rate in the country was close to 9 percent, many economists do not consider this figure to be realistic and believe the real unemployment rate is higher than the government figures.

In recent months and weeks, numerous union and labor rallies have been held in some parts of Iran to protest the poor living conditions.

Source: Voice of America