Brick Factory Workers in Iraq: Facing Death, Injuries, and Disease

On the morning of January 1, 2024, 28-year-old Hussein Ne’ma was going about his usual duties as a furnace operator at the “Al-Janabi” brick factory in the Zaid Bin Ali area of Babil province, southern Iraq.

As he stood atop the brick-constructed furnace, refueling it with black oil, the roof suddenly collapsed beneath him. He fell into the blazing fire and died instantly.

His younger brother, Salam, recalled receiving a phone call from one of the factory workers that morning. He rushed to the site only to find the Civil Defense team struggling to extinguish the flames. With deep sorrow, he said: “It took hours. All they recovered of my brother was his ashes, which we gathered in a small container and buried.”

Hussein had been the primary breadwinner for his family. His father suffers from hearing and vision problems, his mother is bedridden, and he had been providing for them, along with his wife and their four children.

He earned only 25,000 Iraqi dinars (about $17) per day for eight hours of grueling work—without any benefits, protections, or insurance. This is the reality for tens of thousands of workers in Iraq’s brick production and construction sectors, which experts consider dangerous environments lacking the minimum occupational safety standards, as well as any form of legal or health protections.

Salam holds the factory management responsible for his brother’s death. “Hussein worked without ever being registered for social security. This negligence by the factory owner denied his family any fixed financial support or government compensation,” he said, fighting back tears. “These outdated and crumbling factories have claimed the lives of many young people. Hussein was not the first victim of negligence, and he won’t be the last.”

Workers Facing Death

In Nahrawan Industrial Zone, southeast of Baghdad, there are 252 brick production factories, many of them makeshift operations lacking proper health standards and occupational safety measures. The chaotic work environment, largely outside legal oversight, was confirmed by multiple sources interviewed on the ground.

A similar picture emerged during calls with 35 brick factory workers from Babil, Diwaniyah, and Dhi Qar provinces. Not a single one was registered with the Social Security Department. None had access to healthcare or life insurance—basic rights absent from their daily reality.

On Wednesday morning, November 27, 2024, a group of men, women, elderly individuals, and children were busy working at a small brick factory in central Nahrawan. Despite the dense dust and cold temperatures, most had uncovered faces; only three wrapped their heads in light scarves. None had access to proper protective equipment.

Nearby stood dilapidated mud homes and tin shacks inhabited by dozens of impoverished families displaced from central and southern provinces. These homes lacked running water, electricity, or sewage systems—in an industrial area where air pollution levels far exceeded permissible environmental limits.

Close to these homes, 29-year-old Um Mustafa, her husband, and their three children (aged 5 to 9) were walking back from their shift at a brick factory, located only 600 meters away. Their workday starts at 1 a.m. and ends at 8 a.m.

Exhausted, she said: “The children and I, along with six other women, transport the raw bricks to the furnaces using a cart pulled by a donkey.” She recounted a harrowing experience from July 2023: “I didn’t even know I was pregnant. I suffered a severe hemorrhage after work and was taken to the Nahrawan hospital. That’s when I found out I had lost the fetus.”

Like Um Mustafa, hundreds of women in the area work in physically demanding jobs unsuited to their frail bodies, favored by factory owners due to their lower wages compared to men.

Low Wages and Constant Threat of Dismissal

Ahmed Al-Sayyid, 29, a brick factory worker in Dhi Qar province, said the challenges go beyond hard labor. Wages have been steadily declining.

He explained: “Brick factories rely on state-subsidized black oil. When the government reduces their quota, owners claim they must buy oil on the black market and use this as an excuse to cut our wages.”

Workers, he said, have little choice. “If you object, they’ll fire you and find someone else. I can’t afford to stop working. I come from a poor family. I have a wife and three kids waiting for me in our one-room mud house.”

In the four provinces surveyed, daily wages for brick factory workers range between 25,000 and 40,000 dinars for 8 to 10 hours of work. The amount varies depending on the task.

Hassan Al-Shammari, president of the National Labor Union, describes these wages as inadequate given the physical effort and high risk involved. He noted that some workers earn as little as 5,000–7,000 dinars per truckload of bricks loaded.

He added: “Due to economic hardship, many people are forced to work in brickmaking. It’s one of the few jobs that require no experience or education.”

In Nahrawan alone, around 10,000 workers—many of them women and children—are employed in unsafe working conditions.

Inactive Laws

Iraq’s Labor Law No. 37 of 2015 is meant to protect vulnerable groups, including women and children, from dangerous or exploitative work. Article 85 bans assigning women to hazardous tasks that could affect their reproductive health or physical safety. Article 84 prohibits pregnant women in their final trimester from engaging in strenuous labor and forbids night shifts for women, except in specific jobs.

Yet none of these protections are observed in brick factories, where many women work overnight.

Al-Shammari confirmed that hundreds of brick workers have suffered serious injuries—ranging from severed fingers and burns to chronic respiratory illnesses and even cancer—due to toxic factory emissions.

Despite these risks, little action has been taken to address them. Laithe Awad, director of the Awareness and Training Department at the National Center for Occupational Health, merely urged factory owners to “ensure safety and protective measures for workers and provide suitable work environments to reduce accidents.” He stressed the need for “awareness and cooperation” between workers, union reps, and the Ministry of Labor.

Awad acknowledged the occupational hazards in brick factories but emphasized that his center’s role is limited to worker education and “requiring” factory owners to provide safety gear. However, he failed to specify how such requirements are enforced or what actions are taken against violators. Instead, he advised workers to “stand up for their rights and never submit to exploitation”—without naming the authorities to whom they should appeal.

During two extensive field visits to brick factory sites, most owners refused interviews or filming, likely fearing legal consequences due to widespread violations of labor laws and safety standards. Workers, too, were hesitant—some declined to speak, fearing job loss. Those who did talk insisted on anonymity and no audio or video recording.

Data from the National Center for Occupational Health and Safety’s IT Department showed that 2,702 work-related injuries were recorded across all sectors in 2024. These included both men and women and were classified based on causes such as machinery accidents, manual tools, falls, electric shocks, chemical exposure, fires, road accidents, and more.

The findings indicate that private-sector workplaces suffer from a serious lack of occupational safety measures, significantly increasing the risk of accidents and injuries.

Closed Health Center and Makeshift Clinics

At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, October 27, 2024, the author of this report visited the only health center in the Nahrawan area, only to find it closed. A lone security guard said that only two medical assistants rotate shifts at the center, and on that day, one of them had stayed for just a short time before leaving.

Workers in the nearby brick factories complained about the poor services provided by the center. “Ali M.” said that the center should remain open 24/7, especially since the factories operate at night and pose numerous occupational hazards. These risks often require urgent medical attention, and the area is far from the nearest well-equipped hospital. Ambulance response times are slow due to the remote location.

With the health center failing to meet community needs, informal “popular” clinics have flourished in Nahrawan. The report documented nine of these clinics, all rudimentary and constructed from sandwich panels.

One medical assistant running a clinic just 50 meters from a brick factory said he treats many daily cases of light to moderate burns, varying degrees of cuts and wounds, and children suffering from skin conditions such as scabies, measles, and chickenpox—all among the workers and their families.

All of these clinics share common traits: substandard construction, non-compliance with health and environmental regulations, lack of hygiene, and inadequate medical facilities. They are only equipped to provide basic treatments and respond to minor emergencies. The clinic owners refused to allow photography or documentation.

Despite their poor conditions, these clinics remain the first (and often only) option for workers—some even undergo minor surgeries there. Severe cases are referred to the Nahrawan Hospital, located nearly 37 km away.

In another clinic operated by a retired medical assistant, he reported witnessing five worker deaths in 2023 alone due to burns or injuries caused by brick-cutting machines. He estimated that Nahrawan’s brick factories record between five and ten worker deaths each year.

“We receive “between 100 to 170 workers per month suffering from respiratory issues and severe coughing due to toxic fumes from the brick furnaces,” he said, adding that there is no healthcare provided within the factories themselves.

Iraqi Labor Law, specifically Article 88, mandates that employers must provide a medical doctor at any production unit employing 50 or more workers. However, no such provisions were observed or documented during the field visits to Nahrawan’s brick factories.

Exploitation of Workers

Member of Parliament Amir Al-Ma’mouri, a member of the Labor Committee, described the treatment of brick factory workers in private factories as “horrific exploitation.”

He added, “Workers’ rights are not only violated through the lack of occupational and healthcare protections, but also through delayed wages. Some workers are even forced to leave without receiving their earnings—an explicit violation of labor law.”

Al-Ma’mouri revealed he had received detailed reports explaining the high injury and death rates among brick workers. Chief among the reasons were the absence of personal protective equipment and unsafe work environments. “An unhealthy workplace directly increases the risk of serious injuries,” he said.

Following a wave of complaints about working conditions, the National Center for Occupational Health and Safety—part of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs—visited Nahrawan’s brick factories on October 30, 2024. The purpose was to assess workplace safety standards.

The inspection involved gathering data on chemical and physical pollution levels and evaluating the safety protocols in 18 factories. The center issued recommendations to improve conditions and reduce health risks.

Yet, little has changed since the visit. Most factories continue to operate in violation of environmental and labor safety standards.

Workers Without Social Security

Abu Thamer, 47, a supervisor in the brick factories of the Al-Tabu subdistrict in Diwaniyah province, said he and his four sons all work in the brick industry. Their wages recently increased to 30,000 dinars per day—up from just 15,000—but he says this “raise does not reflect the true difficulty and danger of the job.”

Despite over two decades in the industry and currently supervising 150 workers, Abu Thamer has no social security coverage or access to healthcare. Pointing to an empty metal file cabinet, he said: “We don’t even have employment contracts. If the factory shuts down, we’re simply out of work. They can fire us at any time, for no reason. We have no legal protection.”

He accused brick factory owners of exploiting widespread unemployment in the remote areas near their operations. “They offer low-paying, contractless jobs. People accept it because they have no other option—it’s either work under these conditions or remain jobless.”

Most workers, he added, avoid demanding their rights for fear of being fired.

The report’s author spoke to several factory owners in Baghdad and Nasiriyah. They cited financial and administrative burdens as reasons for not registering workers with the social security system. Some complained about mounting losses due to constantly changing government regulations.

A number of owners accused government agencies of issuing “restrictive and confusing” policies, such as delays in delivering black oil—the essential fuel used in firing bricks. These delays, they argued, halt operations and force them to buy fuel from the black market, increasing costs. This, in turn, is used as a justification for not covering the cost of workers’ social insurance.

Some owners also claimed that workers themselves resist registration because they are already enrolled in welfare programs. Registering as employed would disqualify them from receiving monthly aid payments.

Nour Nafe’, a member of Parliament’s Labor Committee, blamed the Labor Ministry’s inspection teams and labor unions for their lax enforcement of mandatory worker registration.

She remarked, “It’s absurd—some factory owners even know in advance when inspection teams are coming. They simply hide the workers until the inspectors leave.”

Najeem Al-Uqabi, Director of the Media Center at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, admitted that many employers intentionally avoid registering workers for social security, taking advantage of their financial desperation and their reluctance or inability to file formal complaints.

According to Al-Uqabi, if a non-registered worker is injured on the job, they have the right to file a complaint with the labor court. The employer will be held liable, “provided there is evidence proving the worker’s right to social security, which should apply from their very first day on the job.”

Factories Violating Environmental Standards

According to Ali Al-Atwani, Director of the Legal Department at the General Directorate of Industrial Development within the Ministry of Industry, there are 781 brick factories in Iraq, 252 of which are located in the Nahrawan Industrial Complex, and 32 in the Al-Ja’ari area north of Baghdad. All of these factories are privately owned and not government-operated.

He states that the majority of brick factories in Baghdad and other provinces operate using primitive and environmentally harmful burning systems that rely on high-sulfur black oil.

Al-Atwani confirms that his department has given brick factory owners a grace period of one and a half years starting from October 2024 to convert their operations to environmentally friendly systems that rely on gas instead of black oil.

Contrary to the numbers provided by the Directorate of Industrial Development, Sinaan Jaafar, Director General of the Environmental Protection and Improvement Department in the Central Region, reports 273 brick factories operating in Nahrawan alone, 64 of which are unlicensed by the environmental authorities. He affirms that these factories use outdated and hazardous techniques that lack safety and quality standards, thereby polluting the environment.

He elaborates: “The burning process is carried out haphazardly and with excessive fuel use, contributing to large volumes of toxic emissions, exposing over 9,000 workers to respiratory illnesses and other health problems.”

The environmental violations described by the Ministry of Environment official were visibly confirmed during a field visit by the investigative team to the Nahrawan Industrial Complex. Within minutes of arrival, the team experienced frequent bouts of intense coughing due to the air being saturated with thick smoke from the factories’ chimneys.

Illegal Labor Practices

Legal expert Ali Al-Tamimi believes that some workers commit a legal mistake by signing contracts dictated solely by employers without reading them or consulting a legal expert, driven by economic necessity. He describes the terms of such contracts as exploitative, as they often deprive workers of clearly defined rights and amount to a form of modern-day servitude.

Commenting on the nature of such contracts, lawyer Imad Abdul-Sada states that proper employment contracts should specify a defined task for a specific wage, must be in writing, and issued in three copies—one for the employer, one for the employee, and one for the Ministry of Labor.

He stresses that Iraqi Labor Law limits the workday to 8 hours, and any additional hours must be compensated. Refusal by the employer to pay for overtime is subject to legal action.

Meanwhile, Waleed Fares, president of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions, accuses brick factory owners of “enslaving workers”, claiming that many of these factories are owned by influential figures within the government, enabling them to block labor inspection teams from entering. He adds that the absence of formal contracts leaves workers completely vulnerable to exploitation.

Limited-Impact Measures

In an attempt to curb labor violations, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has required all business owners to register their workers with the Social Security Department, according to Saddam Al-Shammari, legal advisor at the Department of Social Security and Workers’ Pensions.

He explains: “We have instructed all government agencies not to issue licenses to establish businesses, including brick factories, unless the applicant obtains a clearance certificate from the Social Security Department, which is only granted once all workers are covered under the law.”

Regarding penalties for non-compliance, he states: “We imposed a fine of 5 million Iraqi dinars on any employer who fails to register their workers or neglects to pay their monthly contributions. If repeated, the fine increases to 25 million dinars.”

On February 28, 2024, Minister of Labor Ahmed Al-Asadi conducted a surprise inspection campaign at brick factories in Nahrawan to verify whether workers were enrolled in the social security system and covered under occupational health and safety protocols.

During the visit, the minister oversaw field examinations of factory workers and declared 2024 the “Year of Labor,” emphasizing the enforcement of the Labor and Social Security Laws. He acknowledged the presence of thousands of unregistered workers, despite years of continuous employment.

Nearly a year after the visit, both official statements and on-the-ground realities confirm that little has changed. Most workers remain outside the social security system, and workplace health and safety conditions remain inadequate.