Prime Minister Barzani extends well wishes to workers on International Labor Day

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Saturday extended his best wishes to workers around the world on International Labor Day.

The prime minister expressed "great respect and appreciation" for the hardworking workers of the Kurdistan Region who "keep serving the people of Kurdistan despite the difficult financial circumstances."

Barzani reaffirmed the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) commitment to "protecting workers’ rights" and ensuring working environments that take into consideration "the safety and health of both public and private sector workers."

Social Security

"The exact number of workers in Kurdistan Region is unclear," Hangaw Abdulla-Khan, the head of the Kurdistan Workers' Syndicate, said on the occasion. However, "according to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs data, 115,000 workers have registered social security in the region, with 9,000 of them being foreign workers.”

Abdulla-Khan noted that many business owners attempt to "deceive" workers by not providing them with social security.

The KRG has taken steps to combat this. Arif Hito, the Director-General of the Labor and Social Affairs Directorate, explained that the body has created a workers' hotline to notify authorities about such incidents.

Editing by Khrush Najari