Kurdistan Firms Importing Foreign Workers Illegally Will Be Prosecuted, Official Vows

SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region - At least three companies in the Kurdistan Region have illegally brought in foreign workers, some of whom have died on the job, according to Nammadin, the head of the Directorate of Employment and Professional Training (EPT).

He told Rudaw that the three companies were Qadamxer, Purnam, and Sipal, and vowed to bring them to justice.

Najmadin said that Qadamxer is guilty of “bringing foreign workers without following the legal instruction and informing the EPT,” adding that an arrest warrant had been issued for its owner.

“She has been convicted to a six months in prison,” Najmadin said.

According to Dilman Rafeeq, the legal officer at the EPT, the company brought in 40 Bangladeshi workers to Kurdistan illegally.

Najmadin said that Purnam and Sipal “have had workers injured and dead at their work site.  We have filed complaints against them, but the court has not yet reached a final decision in this regard,” he added.

According to the autonomous region’s labor laws, foreign workers must be approved by the EPT, which ensures they obtain residency permits legally and pass health inspections.

 “No company should bring any workers without EPT’s approval. Also, if workers die or are injured on the job, the company which they work for will be taken to court,” Najmadin said.

Two workers from the eastern Kurdistan (Iranian Kurdistan) died while working on a project for Purnam over the past few months.

Moreover, three other workers working for Sipal died when a roof at another construction site collapsed on their heads in Sulaimani’s Rapareen neighborhood.

Mehdi Muhammed, the owner of Purnam, said that, “The court has summoned us, and we will attend the court on the scheduled date.  However, it was these workers’ destiny to die at this time and place.”

According to Muhammed, the Iranian government has paid the families of the deceased workers, 150 million Iranian tomans, and will continue to pay a monthly salary to their families. “They had insurance, therefore, the government pays compensation to their families” Muhammed claimed.

Companies in Kurdistan continue to bring in foreign workers, despite the high unemployment rate among the local residents.

According to statistics from the EPT, only in 2012 and in Sulaimani province alone, 11.000 unemployed individuals registered at the EPT.  Statistics show that the total number of unemployed in the province is 43,000 people.