What did the Arab governments provide? .. An investigation by Al-Jazeera Net about the financial conditions of workers under Corona

Al-Jazeera Net reporters

Arab workers differ in their nationalities east and west, but they agree on their need for support in the face of the crisis of the spread of the Corona Virus, and the declaration of states that curfews and closes workplaces, which aggravates their suffering.

The official response in the Arab countries, from Morocco to Jordan to Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon, varied between providing direct financial support, food parcels and promises of solutions.

Morocco .. financial support for a fragile sector
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent in Morocco, Maryam Al-Taidi, said that the mandatory quarantine showed the inability of large groups of workers to stay at home because of their daily subsistence to work, including workers in salons, cafes, restaurants, construction workers, cleaning and guarding, clothing stores, shelters, and others.

The informal workers sector contributes to more than 11.5% of the GDP, and the number of informal production units reaches 1.68 million units, and the informal sector employs about 2.4 million people, making up 36% of the workers in the Kingdom, with the exception of the agricultural sector.

Morocco decided to provide temporary financial support to families working in this sector affected by the spread of the Coruna virus, according to the correspondence.

It will be granted from the resources of the Corona pandemic fighting fund, and the value of the support ranged between 800-1200 dirhams (the dollar equals 10.2 dirhams) and will be distributed starting next Monday.

Prime Minister Saad al-Din al-Othmani confirmed his government's awareness of the need to find urgent solutions for those who stopped working due to the conditions of the spread of the Coruna virus.

The correspondent of Al-Jazeera Net quoted the head of the Finance Committee in Parliament, Abdullah Bano, as saying that this sector is the most vulnerable and the most affected, "and we are trying to target four million people affected by the support."

He added that the initial support will be through in-kind materials, until the technical measures for the possibility of disbursing financial aid are completed.

Algeria..no clear procedures
Al-Jazeera correspondent Net Fatima Hamdi said that the epicenter of fear of the Corona virus in Algeria is concentrated in the province of Blida (south), according to the authorities there, and added that the suffering of families increases with the extension of the home quarantine.

President Abdel Majeed Taboun pledged to take care of the owners of daily income and those who are not socially insured, and said, "This is my era."

In the face of the escalating living crisis, especially the daily income workers and craftsmen, the government continues to provide assurances that it is controlling the situation, without the existence of clear mechanisms to deal with the crisis.

The crisis of the spread of the koruna coincided with the decline in international oil prices, which made the country financially difficult.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Jarad said during his visit to Blida, "We will not abandon any Algerian family, no matter its place in the mountains, cities, villages or the desert."

Although Grad did not provide clarifications on the mechanisms to support this segment, the government announced last Wednesday to open two accounts to receive citizen contributions to support national efforts to combat the Corona virus and its aftermath.

According to observers, the failure to take any serious measures from the government to allocate financial aid to the owners of daily income may raise the degree of contention and clash with the official authorities, given that this group will be forced to go out to search for sustenance and support their families.

Tunisia .. two-way support
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent Muhammad Ali Latifi reported that there is a government plan to support workers affected by the spread of the Corona virus, and to support economic institutions, especially small and medium-sized ones, and self-employed people.

For individuals, the government has approved an extraordinary package of 2,500 million dinars ($ 850 million) to protect individuals and institutions in order to mitigate the negative effects of the Corona epidemic.

Also included in the package is the opening of a 300 million dinar financing line for aid to workers referred to technical unemployment, and the allocation of exceptional funds of 150 million dinars for marginalized groups, low-income groups, and those with special needs.

Extraordinary direct cash assistance in the amount of 200 dinars will be distributed to 623,000 low-income families, and direct extraordinary cash assistance to 260,000 needy families for the month of March 2020, estimated at 180 dinars.

Also, cash assistance will be granted to the benefit of families in support of the elderly who lost the bond, at a value of two hundred dinars, and similar assistance to families with children who have lost the bond in the context of a family deposit of two hundred dinars, as well as families with persons with disabilities.

The reporter quoted Hisham Al-Loumi, Vice President of the Federation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts as saying that the more the country continues to struggle against corona, the more bankruptcy between companies and unemployment will increase, which will have negative effects, especially on the vulnerable and marginalized groups.

The number of private sector workers is about 1.5 million, including about six hundred thousand in the Greater Tunis region.

Egypt .. more poor people
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent Muhammad Abdullah quoted experts as saying that the repercussions of the economic crisis of Corona are more catastrophic, especially since the majority of those affected are workers in the private sector outside the facilities, and they are not associated with contracts with an employer.

This group is the dominant group of workers in the country, as their percentage reaches a total of 46.1%, or about 12 million workers, and they are threatened with losing their salaries, deducting or layoffs.

The number of workers in the private sector is twenty million, of whom eight million are inside the establishments and 12 million outside it, and less than a million are in other sectors, according to the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics for 2018.

The Ministry of Manpower called on the affected people to register their data on its website in order to exchange a financial grant of five hundred pounds (32 dollars) without clarifying whether it will be spent once or monthly.

However, according to Al-Jazeera Net correspondent, so far only half a million of them have registered, due either to the fact that most of this segment do not know how to read or do not have the Internet, or computers to register their information.

Economist Mustafa Shaheen says that most of those affected by informal employment in the private sector are outside the establishments, as they do not enjoy fixed wages or social or health insurance, which threatens to widen poverty and social and political concerns in the event of a prolonged crisis.

Sudan .. a crisis beside crises
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent Muzdalifah Muhammad Othman quoted specialists as saying that the economically exhausted government does not seem to have any plans on the ground to support the large number of daily business practitioners, at a time demanding that they stay in homes to reduce the outbreak of the Corona pandemic.

But the sheer number of these unorganized groups apparently forced the government to focus its supposed support on specific sectors represented in tea and food vendors, where hundreds of women work in evening times in public places.

Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Badu said - according to Al-Jazeera Net correspondent - the government's willingness to provide direct cash support to citizens during the period of a comprehensive curfew.

The Bedouins said: We have approved the payment of six thousand pounds (one dollar equals 55.3 pounds) per month to 36,000 women working as tea sellers in the capital, but they will be reduced to enter other marginal occupations.

Al-Jazeera correspondent quoted Sovereign Council member Seddik Tower as saying that the government has formed committees that work in a coordinated manner to help those affected by the curfew decisions from those who are not covered by social security.

On the other hand, economic analyst Khaled al-Tajani doubts the light of the existence of a plan by the government to help the weaker segments, and it does not set a clear policy to deal with the economic effects of people's pensions in general.

He added that the government is talking about 27 million people in the cycle of poverty, and therefore there is a failure of the government's efforts to keep people in homes, due to the increased need for daily earnings.

Palestine .. everything is different
Al-Jazeera correspondent Net Fadi Al-Isa quotes specialists that the Palestinian worker differs from the rest of the world’s workers, because he lives under occupation and therefore there are no pillars of the Palestinian economy, nor an economic system that helps him in case the crisis spreads, nor a compensation law.

To counter the effects of the spread of the Coronavirus, the government signed an agreement with the Federation of Trade Unions and the Private Sector to pay 50% of the salaries of March and April for workers in the private sector, with the rest of the salary to be completed at the end of the crisis.

Likewise - Al-Jazeera Net correspondent says - forming a fund that brings together the government, trade unions and the private sector with the aim of paying financial amounts from each party, to provide assistance to daily workers and workers who were affected in the form of in-kind or financial aid, according to a mechanism that will be agreed upon in the near period, by creating a system Letter for registration by the affected workers.

As for the government sector, it is not in the best condition. The General Secretary of the Federation of Trade Unions, Shahid Saad, told Al-Jazeera Net that the worker is obliged to risk his life in his search for his source of income, by entering Israel and working there to collect his daily food at the expense of his health and that of his family.

The Secretary-General added that there are two hundred thousand workers in the government sector and the government regularly promised their salaries during the crisis.

Iraq .. Complaints and government solutions
Al-Jazeera Net Peace correspondent Zaidan reported that the government's actions to combat the Corona virus, by closing commercial centers and stores, and imposing a comprehensive curfew throughout Iraq; it has affected more than ten million people who work outside of any social insurance and are paid daily wages.

"The government's recent actions have closed the country in front of us and disrupted our interests, without taking quick solutions with which we can support our families," said Jassim Al-Rabee, who works as a truck driver.

He adds that "the government does not think about the poor (...), as if we are not the people of the country, and we do not pay our obligations from fees and taxes."

The reporter quoted the head of the General Federation of Trade Unions in Iraq, Star Danbos-Barak as saying that the Iraqi state’s measures to confront Corona will increase the proportion of the poor, indicating that the General Federation of Trade Unions continues its discussions with the state to find solutions to save those who lost their jobs during this crisis.

On the other hand, the economic advisor to the Prime Minister, Dr. Abdul Hussein Al-Hanin, said in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net that the prime minister formed a committee to address the problems facing people who were affected by the Corona virus and lost their jobs, noting that the government is in the process of issuing a decision that includes granting an amount of thirty thousand dinars ($ 24) for each person without a government salary.

Al-Hanin confirms that this emergency grant will be granted monthly until the end of the crisis to ten million people affected during the current period, indicating that the government will establish the Social Solidarity Fund.

Al-Hunain notes that there are exemptions that will be issued to citizens, such as the exemption for water, electricity, and hospitals.

Jordan .. Donation funds
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent Ayman Fadilat said that the suffering of daily workers in securing their families' livelihoods, living expenses and personal expenses increased with the spread of the Corona virus.

He added that the government decided to establish a "Himmat Watan" fund to collect financial donations from inside and outside the Kingdom to address the economic and social impact of the virus crisis, especially on the affected families directly and the daily workers who lost their main source of income.

The Social Security Corporation (government) has launched an electronic platform to register daily workers, those who do not have a fixed salary, and those who support the elderly, in order to obtain food parcels for their families.

The reporter stated that more than 150,000 citizens have signed up to register through this platform, as the guarantee institution will sort and check the information of the applicants by distributing either food parcels for the elderly, or paid food aid cards according to which they obtain food and goods in coordination with the military, according to the Director of Information Musa Al-Subaihi for Al-Jazeera Net.

Faced with this reality, Al-Jazeera Net correspondent says, community initiatives were launched to distribute food parcels, secure medicines and medical treatments, and provide financial support to the poor and workers affected by this reality.

The reporter quoted the expert, Ahmed Awad, describing the government measures towards this segment as "shy steps" and called for providing appropriate financial support for this group, warning of the spread of poverty among them due to the suspension of work.

Lebanon .. fragile employment
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent Wasim Al-Zuhairi quoted Castro Abdullah, President of the National Federation of Trade and Employees Syndicates, as saying that workers outside social coverage or outside the organized economy are considered to be a popular employer in the country.

He added to Al-Jazeera Net that this group of people today lives in very bad conditions, especially as they are the poorest and are considered fragile labor that lacks continuity.

Abdullah saw that the government that took the decision of general mobilization did not pay attention to the needs of this group with the issue of aid, especially since they live today on food aid from some associations, and they need hospitalization and direct financial aid to pay other expenses.

And he warned against exacerbating the problems of this group and reaching a social explosion and street moves, stressing that the government's announcement of its intention to provide social assistance remains promises.

The International Labor Organization's Social Protection official, Lucca Pellirano, said that the downturn in the economy after this crisis will put jobs in Lebanon at risk and weaken job opportunities in the medium term.

Bellirano added that workers who are not subject to insurance are the most affected by the crisis, noting that providing assistance to workers outside the formal economy is not easy as they are not registered in the insurance and insurance funds, and the lack of full information about them, in addition to the failure to develop clear and transparent mechanisms to provide assistance to them.