Karbala Faces Rising Concern Over Informal Work by Foreign Pilgrims

Unauthorized employment by foreign nationals who enter Karbala as religious visitors has become an economic and social crisis in the city, where thousands are believed to be working outside official registration. The issue has intensified concerns over jobs, wages and enforcement in the governorate of about 780,000 people. Estimates cited in the report put Iraq’s undocumented foreign workforce at between 1 million and 2.5 million, with tens of thousands operating in Karbala. Workers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Syria and Iran are said to be concentrated mainly in markets, restaurants and the construction sector. Iraqi workers say the presence of foreign labor is taking job opportunities away from them and pushing unemployment higher. Their complaints have turned the issue into a broader labor and social dispute rather than a local administrative problem. Mansur al-Maliki, Karbala deputy governor, said the informal foreign workforce may account for more than 25% of the city’s total labor force. He added that the authorities have been organizing inspections to address the problem.