Enab Baladi_ Nour Kassem
After more than ten years working at the Agriculture Directorate in Tartous (western Syria), a blind employee found himself without a job after his government contract expired at the beginning of 2026, with no clear alternative and little prospect of finding other work.
The employee, who asked not to be named, supports a family of five. For him, the contract’s expiration was not merely an administrative procedure or a document that was not renewed. It posed a direct threat to his family’s stability and what was nearly its only source of income.
The employee told Enab Baladi that he regretted the expiration of his contract at the beginning of 2026, which has not been renewed to date, even though he was appointed through an official competitive recruitment process and did not belong to the “war-wounded” or “families of martyrs” categories.
He does not believe the problem affects him alone. Blind people and other persons with disabilities have raised similar complaints, saying their contracts were not renewed despite their appointment under the legally mandated quota reserved to them in public institutions, which amounts to 4% of vacancies.
For those affected, losing their jobs means more than the loss of a salary. It also means losing a rare degree of independence in a labor market that already offers limited opportunities to blind people and other persons with disabilities.
“We Are Not Surplus Staff”
Mamdouh Ibrahim Dibo, a member of the Al-Bara’a Association for the Blind, told Enab Baladi that the failure to renew the contracts of some blind employees had caused surprise and concern, particularly because some of those affected had between 12 and 15 years of service.
According to Dibo, the cases brought to his attention include about five in Tartous Governorate, two in Damascus, and three in Aleppo, across several public institutions, including the Port Directorate, a cement factory, the Railways Directorate, and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Dibo questioned the grounds on which a blind employee appointed under a legal provision granting persons with disabilities a share of vacancies in public institutions could be dismissed. He said treating these employees as “surplus staff” contradicted the purpose of the law itself, which was introduced to help them enter the workforce, not return them to their starting point.
He added that a sighted person can generally move around and search for alternatives in the labor market more easily, while blind people face greater difficulties with transportation, accessing employment opportunities, and convincing employers of their ability to perform the required tasks.
Ministry: 4% Quota Remains in Force
Deputy Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Bahjat al-Hajjar told Enab Baladi that the 4% employment quota allocated to persons with disabilities remains in force. The quota is stipulated in Basic Personnel Law No. 50 of 2004 and its amendments.
Under the law, persons with disabilities are entitled to apply for employment opportunities in public institutions through the percentage allocated to them.
Al-Hajjar noted, however, that no precise statistics are currently available on the number or percentage of persons with disabilities working in government institutions, raising questions about the extent to which institutions comply with the quota in practice.
Affected workers and advocates believe the problem is not limited to the existence of the legal provision. It also concerns how the provision is applied and whether it provides genuine protection to those appointed under it when decisions are issued concerning temporary contracts or their renewal.
Confusion Between Categories
According to al-Hajjar, persons with disabilities whose temporary contracts were not renewed had been appointed outside competitive recruitment processes and therefore were not hired according to the competency standards used in regular employment.
He also referred to a circular issued by Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat to administrative development directorates, instructing them not to renew contracts for groups previously classified under titles associated with the “war-wounded” or “families of martyrs” during the former regime.
Dibo, however, said some blind employees whose contracts were not renewed belonged to neither category. Instead, they had been appointed through vacancies allocated to persons with disabilities under the legally mandated 4% quota.
He believes confusion between the groups covered by the circulars may have harmed some blind employees. He called for a clear distinction between contracts issued under exceptional arrangements and appointments connected to the rights of persons with disabilities and their statutory employment quota.
Renewal Announcement Does Not Cover Everyone
The problem appears more evident in the case of the blind employee at the Tartous Agriculture Directorate, whose contract was not renewed despite an announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform that it had completed procedures to renew its employees’ annual contracts.
On its official page on May 25, 2026, the ministry announced that it had completed the formal procedures for renewing the annual contracts of 6,302 employees through December 31, 2026, in accordance with Law No. 50 of 2004.
Agriculture Minister Basel Hafez al-Suwaidan had previously told Enab Baladi that the renewal covered all contracted employees at the ministry. The blind employee, however, said that when he contacted the directorate where he worked, he was told the renewal applied only to employees whose contracts had expired since March 2026.
The Agriculture Ministry’s announcement does not clearly state that renewals are restricted to contracts that expired after that date. Instead, it says the procedures for renewing annual contracts through the end of 2026 had been completed.
The employee is waiting for officials to reconsider his situation, not only because of his individual case, but because it overlaps with the experiences of blind people and other persons with disabilities at government institutions who found themselves without work, with no consideration for their circumstances or family responsibilities.
Unclear Circulars
Asked about confusion surrounding decisions and circulars, and the failure to renew contracts for blind people and other persons with disabilities despite their appointment through the employment-matching mechanism between the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor and public institutions, al-Hajjar said those affected should contact the administrative development directorates of the relevant ministries.
He said the Ministry of Administrative Development is responsible for employment matters.
Dibo said the problem lies in the lack of clarity and differences in how circulars are applied from one institution to another. Some blind employees succeeded in renewing their contracts at public institutions, while others have still been unable to return to work.
This discrepancy raises a fundamental question: Does the problem lie in the laws, the circulars, or the way each government institution interprets them?
Dibo called for clear and unified instructions concerning persons with disabilities and for the activation of the employment-matching provision between the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor and other public institutions, so their rights are not lost between different ministries and directorates.
Laws Exist, but Implementation Remains a Problem
Prime Minister’s Office Decision No. 35 of 2022 regulates the conditions for appointing persons with disabilities to public institutions.
Under the mechanism described by Dibo, a person with a disability submits an application to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, accompanied by a copy of their disability card and academic or vocational qualifications. A letter is then sent to the public institution where the person seeks appointment under the 4% quota.
The application is subsequently presented to an employment-matching committee, which examines whether the applicant’s abilities are compatible with the vacant position under the applicable laws and regulations.
If clearly implemented, this mechanism should provide persons with disabilities with greater protection because appointments are not made randomly. Instead, the applicant’s circumstances and suitability for the position are assessed.
Syrian laws provide other rights to persons with disabilities, including disability cards, free healthcare through public health institutions, educational and rehabilitation services, consideration of applications for mobility aids, and priority access to certain educational services and university housing.
According to those affected, the existence of these rights in legal texts is not enough when their implementation remains inconsistent or unclear, particularly when employment and income are at stake.
Al-Hajjar said the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor seeks to ensure fair treatment for persons with disabilities and is working to support their integration into society and create appropriate employment opportunities.
Dibo, however, believes disability-related issues still require greater protection, not only in employment but also in various aspects of daily life, inclusion, and independence.
Between a legal provision that allocates persons with disabilities a specified share of public-sector employment and complaints from blind employees who lost their contracts or were denied renewals, the issue remains tied to a question of implementation: Who will ensure that the right to work does not become an unfulfilled legal promise?