No Elections and Weak Defense of Members, Unions Under Guardianship

For decades, Syria’s unions have been under the control of political parties and the state, and have not developed into independent institutions capable of defending their members’ rights. Even so, they remain a pivotal part of life for millions of Syrians. In principle, these bodies are meant to pursue members’ interests in dealing with employers and, at times, the state itself, defend their rights, and help improve working conditions.

What has happened on the ground in Syria since early 2025, however, has disappointed some union members, particularly regarding the election of union councils and several issues tied to their rights. At the same time, the impact has been clear in other areas, such as the reinstatement of workers who were dismissed for participating in the Syrian revolution, returning them to their respective unions.

Union institutions have not risen to the level of representing professional demands or providing real protection for their members. Instead, the appointment of the heads and members of most union councils has weakened their performance, leaving them unable to address cases in which professionals face violations or harassment through effective advocacy.

The Constitutional Declaration, for its part, did not address the most important issue related to building unions: elections and genuine representation of union members.

Through this special file, Enab Baladi seeks to shed light on the role that unions, federations, and professional associations in Syria should play in protecting the rights of their members, as well as those who hold the status of a profession represented by a union without being members themselves.
Appointments and oversight: What the law allows

The only union election recorded since the start of 2025, to date, took place within the General Federation of Trade Unions, but on a limited scale. It was confined to the federation’s General Council, which elected its Executive Office in early December 2025.

Fawaz al-Ahmad, head of the General Federation of Trade Unions, told Enab Baladi, “We reorganized our internal house by holding the General Council of the General Federation on time and electing a new Executive Office that included all components of the Syrian people.” He pointed to holding conferences for provincial professional federations and electing their executive offices, away from what he described as the “guardianship, nepotism, and ready-made names” that had prevailed before the fall of the regime.

Al-Ahmad added that the era of guardianship over workers’ unions, professional unions, and civil society organizations has ended, and that an era of real participation in building the country has begun, based on justice and equality.

Workers’ rights in the public and private sectors

Al-Ahmad said the federation, as part of its role in ensuring “social justice and equal opportunities,” took part in drafting the Civil Service Law, which is meant to replace the Basic Law for State Employees No. 50 of 2004, as well as amending the Private Sector Labor Law No. 17 of 2010.

According to the federation’s head, the drafting of the two laws focused on:

Improving working conditions for employees in both the public and private sectors

Strengthening the social security system

He added that the federation has:

Established a central medical administration

Rehabilitated and reopened the Homs Workers’ Hospital

Backed workers’ demands using legal and factual arguments, including the file on returning workers who had been placed on paid leave in public institutions to their jobs

Amended the health insurance law

Required private establishments to register workers with social security

Secured the distribution of part of profits to workers in profitable institutions through dialogue and communication with relevant bodies, while taking public interest requirements into account without relinquishing workers’ rights

Al-Ahmad declined to answer Enab Baladi’s questions about the legality of appointing the councils of unions and professional organizations and about the role of the General Federation of Trade Unions in supervising these councils, as the law is supposed to require under the Trade Union Organization Law No. 84 of 1968, as well as its role in protecting and defending union members’ rights within other professional unions.
Administrative law expert: Elections determine unions’ independence and neutrality

Mohammad al-Hussein, a specialist in administrative law who spent about 37 years teaching at Damascus University and the National Institute of Public Administration, questioned how the prime minister or his representative could end the work of a given union council through an “administrative decision.”

Al-Hussein said that “in civilized countries, elections are considered the main legal mechanism that governs the independence and neutrality of professional unions in the state. Without free and fair elections, unions cannot be recognized as neutral, independent, transparent, or democratic.”

The Trade Union Organization Law issued in the 1960s granted Syria’s prime minister the right to dissolve a union council and appoint another on a temporary basis instead of holding elections. However, it set conditions for exercising that right, namely the presence of flaws that undermine the union’s work, such as corruption or lack of objectivity. Al-Hussein said this appears to be what the interim government relied on in the dissolution and appointment process.

He said he could lean toward this view, but only on the condition that the appointment be for a very short period, followed by genuine union elections to choose new councils. He added that the government must also prove the existence of flaws in the former councils in order for the prime minister to be able to dissolve them.
“Appointment contradicts the Constitutional Declaration”

Dr. al-Hussein believes appointing union councils through an administrative decision contradicts Syria’s Constitutional Declaration and is not consistent with it, because the declaration states that the state guarantees the work of associations and unions. Therefore, the state should create the conditions for neutral professional unions to exist.

As for those harmed by arbitrary union decisions, they have the right to turn to the competent judiciary. The Syrian academic stressed that all decisions related to a union’s organizational affairs, including dissolution decisions issued by the prime minister, are considered “administrative decisions” that can be challenged before the State Council. Individual decisions, meanwhile, are ordinary decisions that fall under the regular judiciary.

The state of union work in four sectors: accusations and responses

In this file, Enab Baladi sheds light on several unions that represent a broad segment of Syrians, including the unions of lawyers, journalists, pharmacists, and teachers, as well as the General Federation of Trade Unions in Syria.
Syrian Journalists Union: Does it represent its members?

In an individual decision issued without explanation, the Syrian interim government announced in early 2025 the dissolution of the Syrian Journalists Union’s General Conference and the formation of a temporary office to run the union. The move sparked dissatisfaction among journalists and media workers in Syria. It also overshadowed the unprecedented space for media and freedom of expression that Syrian and foreign outlets gained after the fall of the regime.

In early 2025, a limited number of journalists were arrested or detained and later released, including Nour Suleiman, Akram Saleh, Joudi Haj Ali, Amer Matar, Eiad Charbaji, and Firas al-Barjas, who was detained by the Syrian Democratic Forces. These cases took place without the Syrian Journalists Union protecting them, defending them, or even issuing a statement about their detentions.

The Syrian Journalists Union is committed to facilitating the work of Arab and foreign journalists in carrying out their journalistic assignments inside Syria, as well as helping union member journalists carry out their assignments abroad, ensuring freedom of the press and enabling journalists to perform their mission, and safeguarding their rights.

Definition of the Syrian Journalists Union and its tasks (the union’s website)

“The union had no role”

Syrian writer and journalist Eiad Charbaji told Enab Baladi, “The Journalists Union had no role in my arrest case, not even in securing my release. No one from the union contacted me, even though I have been a member since 2005, when I was editor in chief of Shabablek magazine.”

He added that a union representative appeared on al-Ikhbariya to discuss his arrest and justified the detention under the pretext of legal procedures, rather than condemning the detention of a fellow journalist. Charbaji noted that the Constitutional Declaration affirmed Syria’s commitment to local and international covenants, including those related to freedom of opinion and expression, while he was detained under the Cybercrime Law, which the Assad regime used to arrest thousands of activists and critics.

Charbaji criticized the Syrian Journalists Union for failing to defend him and for not issuing any statement about his arrest. He also pointed to statements by major international journalism organizations, including the International Federation of Journalists, condemning his detention and urging authorities to stop detaining journalists.

He said the union, like any professional body, should represent its members, protect them, and defend their rights. He argued that the appointed Syrian Journalists Union does not do that, and instead functions as part of government institutions, even though union work should serve members’ interests and stand up to the state when necessary.

According to Charbaji, the union’s leadership was appointed through non professional mechanisms based on loyalty, and the union does not represent those working in journalism in Syria or enjoy legitimacy among them.

Charbaji said the union’s negative role in his case reflected a bureaucratic mindset aligned with the state, which was the opposing party in his case through the Damascus public prosecution, which accepted the complaint and ordered his detention.
Union response: Protecting journalists is a priority

Baraa Osman, secretary for external relations and communication at the Syrian Journalists Union, told Enab Baladi that the union operates as a trade union body aimed at protecting its members and defending their rights through legal channels and direct follow up with relevant authorities.

He said protection does not begin only after violations occur, but also through training that builds professional and security awareness and reduces risks.

Osman said no cases of prolonged arrest have been recorded on the basis of journalistic work since liberation. He acknowledged that temporary detentions did occur due to field circumstances, and said the union intervened immediately through official legal channels to secure releases without physical or moral harm, without naming specific journalists.

He added that the union does not link defending journalists to media appearances, but prioritizes safety and chooses the most appropriate approach for each case, whether through direct legal follow up or other measures that allow journalists to continue working safely.

As an example, Osman cited the detention of two journalists from Kurdish Channel 8 during the Ashrafiyat Sahnaya events because they were in a prohibited military area, saying they were released within two hours after communication with relevant authorities.
“Elections are impossible”

Osman said the Syrian Journalists Union inherited an unjust reality, as it had previously been tied to the ruling Baath Party under the ousted regime. This deprived thousands of journalists of membership rights because of their opposition positions.

The reality made it necessary to form a temporary administration to rebuild a comprehensive database and update the internal bylaws, given the impossibility of holding elections based on the previous journalists’ bloc, while journalists who had not previously been part of the union continue to be excluded.

Baraa Osman
Secretary for External Relations and Communications at the Syrian Journalists Union

Osman stressed that elections require a sound legal environment that guarantees fair participation, and said preparations began from the outset to hold transparent elections once legal and organizational conditions are in place.

He added that the temporary executive office managed, in a short period, to build a solid database, though more work is still needed to include the largest possible number of Syrian journalists inside and outside the country.