Libyan Minister of Labor, Ali Al-Abed met with the Director of the Transportation Employment Office, Adel Al-Sharidi. They discussed the measures taken by airlines operating in Libya, to regulate the entry of workers.
He stressed that the airlines “should only allow entry for workers who have obtained a work permit from the Libyan Labour Ministry.”
Al-Abed affirmed the need for “full coordination with security agencies, passport control, border management, and civil aviation authorities.”
He emphasised the ministry’s intention to launch an electronic work permit model in the near future.
Last month, Al-Abed said that the Egyptians who were recently deported from the east of the country had entered Libya illegally.
He also rejected allegations of difficulty in obtaining a Libyan visa, as justification for entering the country illegally.
During an interview with the Libyan Al-Wasat TV, the Minister said that the procedures for obtaining a Libyan visa are “easy and available to all workers, whether they are Egyptians or other nationals.”
He pointed out that the procedures include “medical examinations approved by the Ministry of Health, and the Libyan Embassy in the country of the worker.” He explained that some workers “resort to illegal methods to avoid paying medical examination fees.”
Earlier, eastern Libyan forces deported thousands of Egyptians who were in Libya illegally, sending them on foot across the land border, Egyptian and Libyan security sources told Reuters.
The Libyan security source told Reuters that 4,000 migrants had been found during raids on human traffickers, following a shootout between security forces and smugglers.
The Egyptian security source said only about 2,200 of the 4,000 migrants who were found by Libyan security forces were there illegally, and they were the only ones deported.
“When they were deported, they were taken to a location close to the border, and then walked about 2 km into Egypt,” the Egyptian security source added.
Libya is home to about half a million migrants according to migration agencies. Many hope to cross to Europe by boat, while others have settled in Libya, finding work in the country’s oil-rich economy.
The number of migrants crossing to Europe from Libya has sharply increased this year according to Italy, the destination for most of the boats.
