WEEKLY NEWS REPORT: FEBRUARY 15-21, 2021

15/02/2021

Weekly News Reports 2021

Bangladeshi workers evacuated on February 15. Photo from Bangladeshi embassy

Articles and views shared in the Weekly News Report do not represent ARM’s views. Information in these articles has not been fact-checked by ARM and may contain some errors. ARM is simply compiling all news relevant to migrant communities to inform our advocacy efforts and to facilitate the work of organizations who cater to migrant communities.

Evacuation Updates

Evacuation of Bangladeshi Workers Started [here]

The first chartered evacuation flight to Bangladesh took place on February 15, carrying 432 Bangladeshi workers as part of the embassy’s plan to evacuate documented workers and those who could afford to pay for the tickets.

Egna Legna Besidet Announces Reintegration Efforts for Ethiopian Returnees [here]

Egna Legna Besidet announced it has begun a program to reintegrate Ethiopian women they’ve evacuated through supporting them in learning different income-generating skills and in covering school fees for their children.

Updates on Vaccination Plan for Migrant Workers

Ongoing Discussions for Plan to Vaccinate Migrant Workers [here]

Caretaker minister of labor Lamia Yammine headed a meeting to further discuss a vaccination plan for migrant workers with the national COVID committee, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Amel Association and Caritas.

Head of the national COVID committee Dr. Abuldrahman Bizri stated the plan would entail many phases, with getting an estimate of migrant workers whose information is available at the MoL; in coordination with the IOM and the consulates/embassies as a first step.

MoL Seeks Ethiopian Consulate’s Help in Vaccination Awareness [here]

Caretaker minister of labor Lamia Yammine addressed the Ethiopian consulate in a letter requesting that they support the efforts of the ministry of public health and the IOM, among others, in planning vaccination for migrant workers.

Report on Vaccination by Aljazeera [here]

An article by Aljazeera English reported that migrant workers seemed to be ineligible to register for vaccination as per a statement from the ministry of labor the week before.

Other

Report on GS’s New Decision to Stop Criminal Complaints against “Runaway” Domestic Workers [here]

An article by L’Orient Today reported the pros and cons of the General Security’s latest decision to stop criminal complaints against migrant domestic workers who leave the employer’s house, adding that the new administrative process for employers to report the end of employment still does not make it entirely safe for the workers to leave the employer’s house given that they would still be legally tied to the employer for their residency status and that employers can still files charges for false accusations such as theft.

MoL Issues Statement on Employers’ Certificate of Deposit [here]

The ministry of labor issued a statement reminding employers of the circular from January 2020 regarding, which canceled the requirement for employers to report the fleeing of migrant workers and kept the option to submit a request to retrieve the deposit certificate.

The deposit certificate is a requirement for employers to deposit 1.5 million LBP in the bank as a pre-approval step before employing a migrant domestic worker, which employers can submit a request to retrieve after the domestic worker leaves the workplace.

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The Anti-Racism Movement (ARM) was launched in 2010 as a grassroots collective by young Lebanese feminist activists in collaboration with migrant workers and migrant domestic workers.

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