1. Executive Summary
This in-depth investigation examines the mass dismissal campaigns targeting employees in the Syrian public sector, which took place following the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024. The report documents how the caretaker government adopted arbitrary, summary, and improvised measures that resulted in the termination of thousands of public employees as an initial phase of what the interim military administration referred to as a plan to restructure the economy and combat disguised unemployment. The plan reportedly aims to dismiss over 300,000 employees, making it one of the largest mass layoffs in Syria’s modern history.
The mass dismissal campaigns extended across various state institutions and productive and service-oriented public sectors, reaching several Syrian cities. These measures were carried out within a short and compressed timeframe, reflecting their arbitrary and collective nature, and pointing to the absence of any meaningful review process by independent bodies or committees. This approach has raised serious questions regarding the criteria used to justify the dismissals and the extent to which the new administration adhered to the legal and procedural safeguards stipulated in the Basic Law of Public Employment No. 50 of 2004 (Articles No. 132 to 139).
The dismissals were carried out through three main mechanisms. The first involved the non-renewal of annual employment contracts. The second entailed immediate termination of employment through summary dismissals and contract cancellations without prior notice or clear justification. The third –and most controversial– mechanism consisted of decisions forcing thousands of employees to take paid leave under the old salary scale, many of which were later followed by final dismissals with retroactive effect. These measures targeted a wide segment of employees, including those on annual contracts as well as those with permanent contracts, across key sectors such as energy, water, telecommunications, local administration, and the Ministries of Agriculture, Justice, and Health.
These campaigns constitute the largest mass dismissal operation witnessed in Syria’s modern history. They bear resemblance to the de-Baathification measures implemented in Iraq following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, due to their collective and exclusionary nature. These actions raise serious concerns about their impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the affected government institutions, as well as the immediate social and economic consequences for thousands of families who have been left without their sole source of income, in the absence of social protection networks or compensatory alternatives.
This investigation is based on 19 field testimonies from affected individuals and eyewitnesses, in addition to 13 official documents obtained by STJ. Taken together, these sources reveal a lack of transparency and absence of legal and administrative standards in both the dismissal decisions and their implementation mechanisms. They also point to the disproportionate targeting of specific groups, including members of the Alawite community in particular, as well as members of the Ba’ath Party, the Women’s Union, other popular organizations, and the families and relatives of fallen soldiers from the regular army and former military personnel who participated in combat operations over the past decade.
Based on these testimonies and documents, STJ concluded that the government, during one of its first meetings on 24 December 2024 –just two weeks after its formation following the takeover of Damascus by opposition factions– made the decision to dismiss thousands of employees across various ministries and public institutions.[1] While most of the dismissal decisions cited the Basic Law of Public Employment No. 50 of 2004 as their legal basis, it remains unclear whether the procedures and conditions outlined in the law were properly followed, particularly Article No. 137, which authorizes the Prime Minister to issue such decisions upon the recommendation of a specialized committee composed of the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, and the Head of the Central Organization of Financial Control. The law requires that any dismissal decision be based on clear and defined criteria to ensure transparency and fairness in the process.
Official documents obtained by STJ indicate that the relevant ministries and administrative bodies rushed to issue executive decisions, including nominal lists of dismissed employees, just days after the government decision was announced. This raises serious questions about whether sufficient time was allocated for preparation and verification of the names of those affected. These decisions primarily targeted employees appointed through special recruitment exams, treating them as a single, undifferentiated group, with no indication that any prior individual assessments or meaningful reviews had been conducted to determine whether those dismissed indeed constituted what the government labeled as “ghost employees”.
The investigation documents several cases in which employees were pressured to sign “release requests” and complete the dismissal procedures without being provided with any official document confirming the enforcement of their termination. Furthermore, some of them had not received their legally mandated compensation at the time they gave their testimony to STJ researchers.
While certain advocacy efforts and public pressure succeeded in suspending some of the arbitrary dismissal decisions such as in the Directorate of Health in Daraa (according to witness testimonies) and in the public establishments of electricity and agriculture in Sweida, according to local activists, STJ documented the formation of special committees to review objections to the dismissals, as in the case of the establishment of electricity in Damascus. However, it was not possible to verify whether any of these objections were actually reviewed or whether any formal responses –positive or negative– were issued.
The testimonies also documented the implementation of measures carried out outside the framework of the law, including the involvement of security agencies in salary disbursement procedures. These included arbitrary background checks and the registration of certain employees –particularly women– without any clear justification or official notification explaining the reasons behind such actions.
Ultimately, this wave of dismissals led to the outbreak of protest movements starting in early January 2025, encompassing various sectors including health, education, media, industry, trade, banking, and other productive, service-oriented, and administrative sectors. A large number of employees affected by the dismissal and suspension decisions took part in these protests across several Syrian cities, including Damascus, Sweida, Hama, Aleppo, Latakia, and Tartous. These measures have further exacerbated the already difficult living and economic conditions of the dismissed employees and their families.
Syrians for Truth and Justice calls on the Syrian transitional government, led by Ahmad Al-Sharaa, to immediately and comprehensively reassess these policies, and to establish independent committees to review dismissal decisions and verify their legal validity. STJ also urges the provision of integrated economic support programs, including fair compensation and professional retraining for affected individuals. STJ stresses the importance of ensuring transparency in any future decisions related to the restructuring of public sector employment, and preventing the exploitation of such measures for political, security, or retaliatory purposes.
2. Methodology
For the purposes of this investigation, Syrians for Truth and Justice conducted, between January and February 2025, a comprehensive process of documentation and evidence collection through its network of field researchers. This included 19 detailed testimonies related to mass dismissal incidents, in addition to in-depth open-source research. STJ also reviewed copies of official decisions and nominal lists of affected individuals in the electricity, health, justice, agriculture, and local administration sectors.
Among those interviewed by STJ were employees who had either been directly affected by or witnessed the implementation of dismissal decisions in the governorates of Damascus, Daraa, Homs, and Latakia. They provided detailed accounts of the circumstances surrounding the dismissals, the events that accompanied them, and their personal and professional repercussions. The interviews were conducted in Arabic. Ten of them were held in person, with STJ’s field researchers meeting witnesses in locations deemed safe for both parties. The remaining nine interviews were conducted remotely, with researchers using secure communication applications to ensure the privacy and safety of participants.
STJ researchers documented the testimonies of individuals they interviewed after obtaining their informed consent. Witnesses and sources were briefed on how the information they provided would be used –including in the publication of this report– and on the potential risks they might face. As a result, most interviewees chose to withhold their identities or any identifying details, out of fear of possible retaliatory actions by the interim military administration or its affiliates.
In addition to the testimonies, STJ reviewed dozens of official documents, publications, videos, and relevant photographs, obtained either through open sources or directly from witnesses and sources. Several of these materials were verified and included in this report. STJ also consulted a number of media and human rights reports that monitored and documented the dismissal campaigns and relied on some of the information they contained.
3. Background and Context
The public sector has long constituted a fundamental pillar of the Syrian labor market, serving for decades as the main employer for a large segment of the workforce. According to a report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the public sector accounted for approximately 59% of the total labor market in Syria in 2015.
Public sector employment in Syria is regulated by Law No. 50 of 2004, which constitutes the Basic Law for Public Sector Employees. This law outlines the procedures for appointment, tenure, and termination. Chapter Five, Article No. 16 of the law provides for exceptional appointments reserved for members of the Ba’ath Party (formerly the ruling party), the Women’s Union, and other so-called “popular organizations”. Conversely, Article No. 131 strictly limits the grounds for termination of employment to only nine cases: (1) reaching the age of sixty, (2) resignation or equivalent, (3) dismissal for health-related reasons, (4) proven unfitness of a probationary employee, (5) dismissal for poor performance, (6) disciplinary dismissal, (7) expulsion, (8) administrative discharge, and (9) death. Moreover, Articles No. 132 to 139 set out the mandatory legal procedures that must be followed in order to lawfully terminate the service of any public employee.
Over the past decade, there has been a marked increase in citizens’ reliance on public sector employment as a relatively stable means of securing basic daily necessities. This trend has been driven by the acute scarcity of sustainable job opportunities in the private sector and the continued economic and political challenges facing the country.
Following the outbreak of anti-government protests in 2011, the public sector witnessed a growing wave of employee dismissals based on allegations of political disloyalty or affiliation with the opposition. In 2018, dozens of employees in Quneitra, Daraa, and Hasakeh were dismissed due to their political views. In 2017, the public sector also experienced mass layoffs aimed at reinforcing the ranks of the regular army. Conversely, the former regime gradually opened the door for exceptional employment opportunities for a wide range of individuals, particularly family members of fallen soldiers and discharged military personnel. In 2014, Law No. 36 was issued to regulate exceptional recruitment within state institutions, allocating 50% of government vacancies to the families of deceased army personnel. In 2017, Decision No. 7 granted the non-working spouse of a “martyr” the right to employment for herself or one of her children through an annually renewable contract. By 2024, the number of such contracts had reached approximately 2,800. In recent years, the government organized special recruitment competitions for demobilized members of the army and security forces, resulting in the appointment of nearly 18,000 individuals to public sector jobs by the end of 2021.
Following the fall of the regime in December 2024, the interim military administration launched mass dismissal campaigns targeting thousands of public sector employees. This move effectively reproduced patterns of collective punishment, reminiscent of those attributed to the Assad regime, by targeting broad segments of Syrian society based on presumed loyalty or support for the former government led by Bashar al-Assad. These measures took place in a context that mirrors both the patterns observed in Syria over the past decade and the post-2003 “de-Baathification process” in Iraq following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
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[1]Although the official minutes and decisions of the meeting remain inaccessible, all official documents concerning dismissal and contract termination obtained by STJ indicate that these decisions were directly based on the outcomes of that meeting. Some of the documents cite Article No. 5 as the basis for the dismissal of former party members and members of professional organizations, while others refer to Articles No. 4 and 6 with regard to discharged military personnel and the families of the martyrs or deceased, as described in the language of the official decisions.