Transitional Government in Syria forces hundreds of employees to resign

Hundreds of employees whose paid leaves have ended have been forced by the Transitional Government to return to work in areas far from their places of residence and family stability. According to several employees, this policy is a deliberate effort “to compel workers to resign against their will.”

Employees stated to ANHA Agency: “What justification is there for transferring a worker from Aleppo—where he has lived with his family for decades—to Damascus and forcing him to work outside his specialization, except to pressure him into resigning?”

Staff at Syrian Airlines confirmed that nearly all veteran employees have left, as they were transferred away from their hometowns and “forced to resign.”

Sources within the Social Insurance Authority, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, estimated that thousands of resignations have been submitted across various regions.

The institution is reportedly unable to handle the flood of inquiries and requests — including applications to count compulsory military service prior to 2011 or to purchase additional years of service to qualify for partial pension benefits instead of a lump-sum payout.

Employees noted that this policy has forced many women to leave their children and work in remote regions, in violation of international norms that prioritize family unity — particularly after the demographic changes that followed the dissolution of the former regime’s forces, when many military personnel were reassigned locally while their spouses were not allowed similar transfers.

Several employees with limited years of service said they were denied their rightful compensation, with some government departments informing them they were not eligible, while the Social Insurance Authority also refused payment.

According to ANHA sources, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research has received dozens of transfer requests from staff working at teaching hospitals in Damascus — especially at Al-Biruni Hospital — and from public universities where applicants already have approved positions. However, the ministry has rejected these requests, citing that the matter lies “beyond the minister’s authority” and under the control of a “higher, unnamed body.”

Sources added that numerous humanitarian cases involve illness, family separation, and child care difficulties.

Some women have even reached divorce or separation due to the ministry’s refusal to allow relocation, despite their holding advanced academic degrees and their desire to reunite with their spouses.

ANHA