Dozens of Syrian workers demonstrated east of Benghazi in protest against the delay in paying their monthly salaries for their services in construction companies.
According to an investigation by the Syrian Suwayda 24 network, the protesters raised a demand (either salaries or travel) and demanded improved working conditions after being subjected to fraud by a travel agency in Syria that sent them to work with a contracting company in Al-Gubba in eastern Libya.
One of the workers said that they were surprised by a reality different from what they were told in Syria before the promises that the travel agency in Syria made about salaries, reservations and accommodation.
The story began with the appearance of advertisements on social media sites from a company called (Golden Hands for Labor and Employment) requesting workers in various professions to work in Libya with salaries of up to $600 per month, and other temptations.
The contracts signed between the workers and the company included that the worker would receive $600 per month during his work with Barqa Real Estate and Investment Company, with the provision of decent housing and three meals a day, for a contract that extends for a full year, renewable, with an agreement on a three-month trial period, after which the worker would return to his country at the company's expense if he did not continue with the job.
According to the workers' testimonies, which were reported by Suwayda 24, "the truth is far from the promises," as the salary was reduced to only $400, while the housing conditions were very poor, and the food allocated to the workers was insufficient and of poor quality. The workers complained of worms sometimes in food, and the spoilage of some meals, in addition to restricting their movement in and out of workplace.
The investigation said that one of the biggest problems facing Syrian workers is the non-payment of salaries for about 55 days, as the company evades its responsibilities, justifying this by saying that the employment office in Syria "cheated them, and does not recognize them."
It pointed out that the workers face the threat of paying a fine of up to 40 million Syrian liras if they leave the company, or try to return to their country, and that "their passports are being held by the Libyan company, which further complicates their legal situation."
