300,000 employees removed in Syria

The Minister of Finance in the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham administration, Aba Zaid, stated that the administration will increase salaries by 400% to improve the conditions of employees, noting that the average salary in Syria ranges between $20 and $25, and that the majority of the Syrian population lives below the poverty line, according to RT Arabic.

He explained that the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham administration aims to restructure government institutions to address inefficiencies, pointing out that there are no accurate figures for the number of employees. However, the reality indicates the presence of around 900,000 employees, with some of them being only registered on paper to collect salaries without performing any work. He confirmed that 300,000 names would be removed.

Aba Zaid emphasized that the administration does not have a magic wand to solve Syria's economic problems, adding that they inherited a public sector in which 70% of the companies are failing. He mentioned that they are reviewing these companies and will close those deemed economically unviable or privatize them, according to RT.

In this context, Syrian academic and economic researcher Ammar Youssef said that "the 400% salary increase means that if an employee's previous salary was equivalent to $25, it will now be $100, which is approximately 1,100,000 to 1,200,000 Syrian pounds, depending on the current exchange rate."

He added, in an interview with Al Arabiya Net, that "a Syrian family needs 15 million Syrian pounds to cover living costs, including food and drink, equivalent to about $1,200. Thus, the salary increase will not cover all the needs of Syrian families or employees."

He also explained that "the number of employees in Syria is around 2 million, which could decrease to 1.5 million in the near future. These employees represent only a small fraction of Syria's population, especially since employees support their families, including at least a spouse and two children."

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ANHA