Damascus-Sana
The activities of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor during the year 2020 in the field of social services focused on building a protection system for the most needy groups in society by providing various services in the centers and institutes of the ministry and NGOs, automating the data of persons with disabilities and building the capacities of workers in this field through specialized training courses in cooperation with International organizations.
The Ministry also participated in a consultative workshop with (ESCWA) on enhancing access for people with disabilities to technology services, in addition to participating with (UNESCO) in the electronic platform project for distance education for people with disabilities.
The Ministry has completed the necessary preparations for the issuance of the National Wounded Card, which is given to the wounded of the Syrian Arab Army, the Internal Security Forces and the auxiliary forces, whose disability exceeds 40 percent, as it announced on the 26th of last November that it will start to be handed over from the 15th of next January.
The Ministry has also prepared a guide for employees working on issuing the nation’s wounded card in its directorates in the governorates. It has completed printing the wounded cards for the disability bracket of 80 percent and above, and coordinating their delivery to the wounded by the Wounded Homeland Program.
The Ministry's work during the year 2020 included updating the national strategy for early childhood care and development, following up the procedures for issuing the child rights law, following up the project for developing non-governmental organizations, and following up work on the integrated electronic system project for NGOs and its electronic portal as part of the e-government.
In order to simplify the procedures related to the services provided by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, last July, the Ministry opened a specialized citizen service center in the ministry’s building, which initially provides 15 services, most of which relate to the work of NGOs and the care of persons with disabilities in addition to citizens' complaints. The Central Council for Persons with Disabilities also followed up. Implementing the scholarship program for students with disabilities studying in university education and beyond, to reach the largest possible number of beneficiaries.
During the international conference on the return of Syrian refugees, which was held in Damascus on the 11th and 12th of last November, the Ministry signed with the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection in the Russian Federation a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in a number of protection and social welfare programs.
In the field of rural development, during the year 2020, the Ministry re-activated the work of five rural development centers in the countryside of the governorates of Quneitra, Deir Ezzor, Homs and Damascus, in addition to reactivating 15 units of rural industry in a number of governorates.
In the field of work, 357 fines were issued against establishments that violated the provisions of Labor Law No. 17 of 2010 and the fines imposed were estimated at more than 49 million and 370 thousand Syrian pounds, and the number of industrial and commercial establishments and private educational institutions before university education granted approval to stop work in whole, in part or Temporary 571 establishments.
In the area of supporting youth training and facilitating their access to the labor market, at the beginning of 2020, the Ministry opened seven youth empowerment centers to join the Damascus Center, which was inaugurated in 2018. Networking with 141 private sector entities to provide job opportunities, as 325 job opportunities were created.
With the spread of the Corona virus, and with the aim of compensating people whose work was disrupted as a result of precautionary measures to address the Corona virus, on April 16th, the Ministry launched the National Emergency Social Response Campaign, which, in one of its aspects, targeted these people by providing an unemployment allowance of 100,000 Syrian pounds to be disbursed once, as the number of beneficiaries reached Of them 88,176 people.
On the 9th of last June, the Ministry launched the second phase of the program to support and enable discharged people from compulsory and reserve education service, as registration of those wishing to benefit from it began at the branches and centers of the National Fund for Social Aid in the governorates, and the number of admissions reached more than 29 thousand theater. The Fund also continued to provide monthly bonuses for those admitted in The first phase of the program, which was launched last year, reached more than 36,000 theater beneficiaries, as well as vocational training tracks and small business loans.
Last August, the National Social Aid Fund signed a cooperation agreement with the National Microfinance Foundation that includes granting loans with a ceiling of 5 million Syrian Pounds to all laid-offs who are not employed by government agencies and who are accepted into the Demobilized Support Program, the fund will pay the full interest and the number of those who have been loaned to start their projects Until the 6th of this month, there are 145 theaters in Damascus, Aleppo, Tartous, Sweida and Lattakia, and work is being done to expand loans to include the rest of the governorates by creating branches for the National Corporation or through networking programs implemented by the Fund with other financing agencies from public or private banks so that the fund bears a percentage of the interest.
Inas Svan
