Head of the Basra provincial council Sabah al-Bazoni said that rampant unemployment is behind triggering demonstrations in the province.
The spread of foreign labor and the rampant unemployment were one of the reasons behind the demands to transform Basra into a federal region, Bazoni said.
The salary of a foreigner worker amounts to around $1,000 per month, while the total salaries of the foreign employees reach $1 billion a year, Bazoni said, adding that the pretext that Iraqis do not have the skills required will be eliminated after Iraqis take qualifying courses.
Foreign workers enter the country illegally through border crossings, Bazoni asserted, pointing out that financial allocations in 2013 were sufficient to employ the young people of the province.