Expulsion of Afghans causes labour shortage in Iran

KABUL (Pajhwok): Mass Builders Association Chief of Tehran province Iraj Rahbar says the expulsion of Afghan nationals from Iran has created a labour shortage in the country’s construction industry, leading to delays in several projects.

He noted that replacing Afghan workers with Iranian labourers would be both time-consuming and costly.

His remarks come as Iran continues to intensify the deportation of Afghan migrants, with reports indicating that thousands are being returned to Afghanistan each day, according to the analytical news site Asr-e Iran.

Rahbar said that over 50 percent of construction workers in Tehran were Afghan nationals and their expulsion caused a severe shortage of manpower in the building sector.

He explained that since the departure of Afghan workers, construction activity has slowed down and some projects have come to a halt.

Replacing them with Iranian workers, he said, requires considerable time and significantly increases costs — particularly for initiatives like the National Housing Movement, where pricing and contracts were set two years ago and cannot now be altered.

He also pointed out that Iranian construction workers typically demand nearly twice the wages of their Afghan counterparts.

Moreover, Afghan workers were not subject to social security contributions, making them a more economical choice for employers — who, as a result, preferred to hire them.

kk/ma