Strong Libya job market lures Maghreb workers

2009-03-27

After years of isolation from the continental and global economies, Libya is seeing a business boom. Helping to fire the growth engines is a large labour force from the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa.

Text and photos by Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tripoli – 27/03/09

Evidence of economic growth is visible throughout Libya.

A sandy wind blows everything in the city of Tripoli; the sand of the beach surrounding the city mixes with the sand of the desert. But for the many Maghreb and African workers who have converged on Libya, the sand is no deterrent to the prospect of returning home with wealth from a country that has gone in just a few years from an isolated North African nation to one boasting visible signs of economic growth.

The sand-swept land has been transformed into a giant workshop of new construction.

Last week, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned an A- long-term currency rating to Libya, noting the country's "strong public assets and little debt, relatively low financial liabilities and solid medium-term growth prospects from its energy sector".

"Following years of international isolation, Libya appears committed to the process it launched in earnest in 2003 of rebuilding its economic and political links to the rest of the world," the S&P report says.

Libyan banks and companies are "relatively sheltered from the global financial turmoil, as external liabilities are minimal," the analysis continues, adding, "Libya's sizable financial buffers…are sufficient to carry it through the global recession with limited disruption to the country's development plans."

The global financial crisis is a potential boon for Libya, as managers of the country's sovereign wealth fund – the Libya Investment Authority (LIA) – look for ways to spend its $70 billion dollars on real estate, utilities and other bargains in the West. "It is a very good opportunity for us to look for good investments which we can buy in Europe, in the United States and in other markets," LIA chief Mohamed Layas told the Financial Times on Tuesday (March 17th).

The explosive growth is evident within the Jamahiriya as well. According to sources in the Investments Authority in Tripoli, scores of Africans and Asians are currently in Libya to work on more than 600 investment projects. In fact, expatriate workers represent an estimated fifth of the labour force.

Workers from Maghreb countries are preferable to those from other nations, a source in the Libyan government told Magharebia, because of the "similar habits, traditions and the ease of speech between Libyans and their Maghreb brothers".

The Libyan government gives Maghreb workers special treatment; it doesn't require them to have entry visas. Last year, it even repealed a law requiring Maghreb travellers to Libya to have a minimum of 1,000 euros in their possession.

"It's rare to find an unemployed Tunisian or Moroccan immigrant; work opportunities are available," says Maher Tlili, one of an estimated 80,000 Tunisians working in Libya.

Maghreb workers have little trouble finding employment in the country's growing private sector. Business partnerships are flourishing, with joint consultancy, real estate or engineering offices run by Libyans and Moroccans or Libyans and Tunisians.

Many arrivals from the Maghreb are able to establish a small business, such as Mokhtar, a young man from Tunisia, who runs a modern metalwork workshop in the upscale Seraj district, or his compatriot Moncef, who manages an elegant tea hall which he named "Al Mashtal" after a Tunis hotel.

Still, there are few Libyan waiters at cafés or restaurants in the Jamahiriya. Owners of these places depend instead on Moroccan and Tunisian workers. The Maghreb immigrants staffing these establishments say they are happy with their move to neighbouring Libya.

"Most people are kind and welcome you when they know that you come from a Maghreb country," says Najat, a young Moroccan woman who works at a luxurious café at the Al Fateh complex in the heart of Tripoli.

"It's true that the people weren't accustomed to seeing a girl serving them in the middle of a café where the majority of customers are men. However, over time, their looks of surprise turned into smiles, and I soon won the respect of most of them," she explains.

Meriem, who left Tunisia for a job running a hair salon owned by a Libyan woman, has had a similarly positive experience. "I didn't face any difficulties acclimatising with [Libyans], although my family was hesitant to let me go," she tells Magharebia.

Walid, a young man from Morocco, is getting ready to return home next summer to get married. He doesn't know whether or not he will come back to Libya. "I have saved all that I need for my wedding after more than four years here."

The influx of foreigners has prompted officials to address the lack of specially-trained Libyans able to meet the needs of the new labour market. Under a new law, 30 percent of all employees hired by foreign companies must be Libyan nationals. Mohammed Ali, a provincial project director, complained about the lack of trained – or willing – Libyans to meet the 30% requirement. "Actually, it is difficult to get that percentage," he told Quryna newspaper in an interview earlier this month.

"You won't find any Libyan young man accepting work at carpentry or a metalwork shop or in the field of construction," says Abdullah, a fresh graduate of the Faculty of Law.

He is still looking for a job that matches his education.

But even Libyans who do master a trade often choose to leave their native country, Abdullah tells Magharebia. Malta is their destination of choice.

"The salary is four times higher there. More importantly, it is done far away from the eyes of family and relatives."

The Maghreb presence is not restricted to labour, however. There are scores of Tunisian, Mauritanian and Moroccan students who study at Libyan universities. Tunisian students, for example, come under a co-operation agreement between the Tripoli and Tunis governments.

"There is no problem facing the graduates of Libyan universities in recognizing their academic certificates in Tunisia," Abdullah adds. "I know a lot of law graduates who engage in the legal profession in Tunisia."

Migrant workers from sub-Saharan Africa often do menial jobs due to language differences.

Hajj Ahmed, who owns a slabs factory on the outskirts of Tripoli, likes to hire Tunisian, Moroccan and Egyptian workers because of the common language and experience. Pointing at a huge crowd of immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, he says they do simple work, such as cleaning the streets and moving heavy objects.

"They are here to seize a chance to sail secretly to Europe," he says. "They won't stay here for long. They may be lucky enough and make it to the Italian coast; otherwise they will be devoured by whales if they fail to make it to the other coast and the sea washes them away."

To escape tight pursuit by the Maghreb coast guards, many young men who desire illegal passage to Italy go to neighbouring Libya to seize the chance of secretly sailing to the other shore. They work in restaurants and other jobs to collect the cost of trip.

Seifeddine Al Faitouri, a Libyan student, tells Magharebia that crime networks in the Maghreb aren't limited to just human trafficking. Rather, they have moved on to the smuggling of drugs and antiquities.

"These are the fields in which Maghreb co-operation has been successful!" he says with a laugh.