Special Report by Bran Press - Mohammed Al-Hajbi
Since late 2016, the salaries of Yemeni government employees have been suspended, forcing thousands to flee to Aden, declared the temporary capital and other areas controlled by the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
Among these displaced individuals are employees of the Yemen Oil Company, who were compelled to seek refuge in Aden and other provinces outside the control of the Houthi group, designated a terrorist organization by the international community. Their aim was to secure their salaries and find ways to support their families.
Harsh Circumstances
In their displacement, most of these employees found themselves facing extremely difficult living conditions, unable to receive their salaries or return to their former jobs as they had hoped.
Many were forced to take on grueling and demeaning jobs to make ends meet, including working as street vendors, construction workers, fruit and vegetable sellers, and even selling qat and cold water on the streets, as several of them told Barran Press.
This drastic shift has resulted in psychological trauma, illnesses, and epidemics for many. Some have even suffered serious health problems like heart attacks, due to the harsh conditions they are living in, according to some of these employees.
Mohammed Al-Azizi, an employee of the Oil Company, told Barran Press that government employees were forced to flee to liberated areas due to the Houthi group's brutality, especially those who opposed the group's coup and were released from their prisons.
Al-Azizi, a member of the Displaced Employees Forum initiative advocating for displaced employees, added that the employees' flight was also a result of the hunger caused by the Houthi group's plunder of the state and theft of employee salaries. He added that the group demands they work under the threat of force without paying them, and if they refuse, they are accused of siding with the "aggression" (referring to the Saudi-led coalition).
Difficulties and Challenges
Rashad Saif, another Oil Company employee, told Barran Press that many displaced employees are struggling with the high cost of living, without receiving the necessary settlements that their colleagues in areas controlled by the Yemeni government receive.
He added that these employees face constant abuse from the Ministries of Civil Service and Finance in the internationally recognized Yemeni government, as they confiscate their salaries and deprive them of their basic rights, such as bonuses and housing and transportation allowances.
Saif expressed his frustration at being deprived of their financial rights as employees, highlighting their suffering due to the relocation of their workplaces from Sana'a to Aden without providing the necessary facilities.
Nadir Saleh, a third Oil Company employee, spoke to Barran Press about the living conditions of displaced employees, stating that they are deteriorating day by day, especially with the decline of the Yemeni rial against foreign currencies.
He complained to Barran Press about the delayed disbursement of salaries, and the restriction of their disbursement only to liberated areas, which exacerbates their suffering alongside the high cost of living and rising rents in displacement areas.
Nadir outlined the difficulties they face in securing their daily lives in displacement areas due to the high cost of living and rising rents, in addition to the harsh climatic conditions and the lack of basic services such as electricity and water.
Tedious Processes
Al-Azizi described the "lengthy and tedious" processes involved in getting salaries reinstated. He stated that "approximately 20,000 employees received their salaries between 2017 and 2018 after 6 months of exhausting paperwork and negotiations between their employers and the Ministries of Civil Service and Finance. The rest have yet to receive their salaries."
According to Al-Azizi, the Ministry of Finance halted salary-related transactions and reviews on March 15, 2018. However, some employees managed to secure their salaries through high-level directives or local authorities in the provinces they had fled from, bringing the total number of employees who received their salaries to around 30,000. The rest, however, continue to suffer.
Roots of the Crisis
On December 30, 2019, the Ministry of Finance in the internationally recognized Yemeni government stated that banks contracted to disburse salaries for retirees and government employees in sectors under Houthi control "apologized for their inability to continue disbursement following the militia's illegal actions to prevent the circulation of the new national currency."
The Ministry, in a statement issued at the time, held the Houthis "fully responsible for obstructing tens of thousands of employees and retirees from receiving their salaries and pensions, which the government has been paying regularly for over a year, despite the group's continued plunder of public revenues and failure to deposit them in the Central Bank in Aden." The statement expressed regret for the "disregard with which the Houthi militia treats the suffering of citizens and exacerbates it."
The Ministry called on "the international community, the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund to assume their responsibilities towards these actions that exacerbate the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the militia since its coup against the legitimate authority and the ignition of the war."
The Central Bank branch in Sana'a, under Houthi control, had issued a decision on December 19, 2019, prohibiting the circulation or possession of banknotes printed by the internationally recognized Yemeni government, arguing that the circulation and possession of such currency would harm the national economy.