Iran bars hiring foreign workers
By Sara Rajabova
Iranian government will stop hiring of foreign employees as part of efforts to resolve the unemployment problem in the country.
The Iranian administration has instructed all the government organizations to stop employing foreign workers.
The Iranian First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri has circulated a communiqué which orders all the organizations and governorates to hire only Iranians, the Mehr news agency reported.
The decision has been made to protect Iranian laborers and help resolve the unemployment crisis in the country.
Some 1.7 million foreign nationals from four countries are currently working in Iran, of them 1.452 million, equaling 86 percent, are Afghan nationals, the Mehr reported in December, citing latest official statistics.
The foreign laborers come from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Turkey. Most of the foreign workers are residing in Tehran, Khorasan Razavi, and Isfahan provinces of Iran.
The reports said more than 300,000 foreign workers have entered Iran since 2011.
Earlier, Iranian Labor and Social Welfare Minister Ali Rabiei said the foreign workers in Iran are mainly engaged in uncomplicated and unprofessional fields while unemployment crisis in Iran involves university graduates.
He said that the foreign workers have even occupied many jobs in villages because Iranian workers are disinclined to do low-paid jobs.