Back to Contents The Lebanese Newspaper L’Orient Le Jour published similar news two days before: “The Minister for Labour, Moustapha Bayram has modified the rules in place that concern the professions that are reserved for Lebanese citizens, authorising Palestinians to work in union-regulated professions. The ministerial decree, as reported by the National Information Agency, will permit to Palestinians born on Lebanese soil and officially registered with the Ministry of Interior to work in professions that require registration with a union, such as medicine, law, engineering or public transport- professions from which they have previously been excluded. (...) However, not all of these professions will immediately open for Palestinians according to this new decision, as some of them require legal changes, while others require a change in the status of the unions so as to allow nonLebanese workers to enter their realm.” [In-house translation. The author is a French native speaker] ORIGINAL SOURCE: “Le ministre libanais du Travail Moustapha Bayram a modifié mercredi les règles en vigueur concernant les professions réservées aux ressortissants libanais, de manière à autoriser les Palestiniens à travailler dans des professions réglementées par des syndicats. Le décret ministériel publié, tel que rapporté par l’Agence nationale d’information (Ani, officielle), permettra aux «Palestiniens nés sur le territoire libanais et officiellement enregistrés auprès du ministère de l’Intérieur» de travailler dans des professions nécessitant l’adhésion à un syndicat - comme la médecine, le droit, l’ingénierie ou les transports publics - dont ils étaient auparavant exclus. […]Toutefois, toutes ces professions ne seront pas immédiatement ouvertes aux Palestiniens en vertu de la nouvelle décision, car certaines d’entre elles nécessitent soit des modifications juridiques, soit des modifications du statut des syndicats pour que les travailleurs non libanais soient autorisés à travailler dans ces domaines.” (Source: L’Orient-Le Jour, “Les Palestiniens peuvent désormais exercer des professions nécessitant l’adhésion à un syndicat”, 8 December 2021) The National, an English language publication covering news in the Middle East wrote: “Lebanon on Wednesday removed barriers for Palestinian refugees to access some of the local labour market, but most white-collar jobs remain barred without a Parliament vote. The decree, published on the Labour Ministry’s website, says Palestinians born in Lebanon, as well as non-Lebanese with a Lebanese mother or married to a Lebanese citizen, are now allowed to work in professions managed by Lebanese orders and syndicates. But it remains to be seen whether orders and syndicates will choose to amend their rules to allow Palestinians to work. “The majority request reciprocity,” said Abdelnasser El Ayi, project manager at the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, an inter-ministerial body headed by the prime minister’s office. This remains impossible as long as there is no Palestinian state. Laws governing jobs organised by order, such as engineering, medicine, pharmacy and law, can only be changed by lawmakers in Parliament, Mr El Ayi told The National. Syndicated professions, including nursing or physiotherapy, may be governed by a government decree or by a law voted by Parliament.” (Source: The National, “Palestinian refugees in Lebanon granted limited access to job market”, 8 December 2021) 9. Access to labour market, means of basic subsistence 94