(EQTSAD)- The economic crises in the Gulf countries, as a result of oil prices fall due to the Coronavirus pandemic, looming that a large part of the Syrian workers will lose their jobs, which will definitely affect a wide segment of the interior Syrians, particularly families that depend on expatriates to secure their needs.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwaiti construction companies have started to reduce the salaries of foreign workers, by rates ranging between 30-50 percent, due to the bad economic situation, according to Eqtsad sources, a large number of UAE,
The majority of Syrian workers in the Gulf have been affected by the economic recession, Economic researcher Younis al-Karim told Eqtsad.
Younis added that the majority of expatriates have started to rely on their personal savings, due to the high costs of living in the Gulf.
Money transfers from Gulf region to Syria have been stalled, due to the complexity of transfer procedures, in addition to the restrictions imposed on the funds movement of for Syrian people and companies.
A UAE-based Syrian civil engineer told Eqtsad that reducing wages by the company in which he works, has reached 30%, likely that the company's management will lay off dozens of workers of non-Emirati nationalities.”
According to the engineer, the current situation threatens of a catastrophic economic conditions for the Syrians and others in the Arab Gulf, which means a decrease in the amount of money transfers to the Syrian interior.
Remittances at a minimum
The financial inspector and economist, Monther Muhammad, told EQTSAD that the financial system's procedures before the Corona pandemic, specifically preventing the circulation of the dollar in its areas of control, and restrictions on transfers in foreign currencies, previously led to a significant decrease in the volume of remittances to the Syrian interior.
Furthermore, he added that “since the emergence of the Coronavirus, the amount of remittances shrank to limited amounts, which had no effect on the economic life in the Syrian interior.”
According to Muhammad, the remittances suspend has contributed greatly to the low exchange rate of the Syrian pound, and the high rates of inflation, to levels that constitute a real threat to the living conditions of Syrians.
By Mostafa Mohamed
EQTSAD
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