Private sector gives priority to returning Libya workers

The Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC), representing 4.2 million manufacturers, businessmen and service providers, promised Monday to give employment priority to Egyptian workers returning from Libya.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Manpower decided Monday to count the number of returning Egyptian workers from Libya and requested they fill a form. Manpower Minister Nahed Al-Ashry said the form will include workers’ information and the amount of their losses to facilitate their compensation.

Similar forms were introduced in 2011 when thousands of Egyptian workers in Libya started to return home after the Libyan uprising. The interim government at that time had agreed to exempt the workers from customs fees on their possessions returning from Libya for a period of six months.

Approximately 1.5 million Egyptians, mostly low and semi-skilled workers, were employed in Libya before the current crisis, the International Organisation for Migration said. In 2014, approximately 40,000 Egyptian workers were transported via Libya’s western border to neighbouring Tunisia, fearing for their safety.