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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Libya
Index
A government advertisement appearing in an international publication in 1977 asserted that the Libyan social security legislation
of 1973 ranked among the most comprehensive in the world and that
it protected all citizens from many hazards associated with
employment. The social security program instituted in 1957 had
already provided protection superior to that available in many or
most developing countries, and in the 1980s the welfare available
to Libyans included much more than was provided under the social
security law: work injury and sickness compensation and disability,
retirement, and survivors' pensions. Workers employed by foreign
firms were entitled to the same social security benefits as workers
employed by Libyan citizens.
Subsidized food, inexpensive housing, free medical care and
education, and profit-sharing were among the benefits that eased
the lives of all citizens. The government protected the employed in
their jobs and subsidized the underemployed and unemployed. In
addition, there were nurseries to care for the children of working
mothers, orphanages for homeless children, and homes for the aged.
The welfare programs had reached even the oasis towns of the
desert, where they reportedly were received with considerable
satisfaction. The giving of alms to the poor remained one of the
pillars of the Islamic faith, but the extent of public welfare was
such that there was increasingly less place for private welfare.
Nonetheless, the traditional Arab sense of family responsibility
remained strong, and provision for needy relatives was still a
common practice.
Data as of 1987
A health care center in Benghazi
Courtesy United Nations
Social Welfare
A government advertisement appearing in an international publication in 1977 asserted that the Libyan social security legislation
of 1973 ranked among the most comprehensive in the world and that
it protected all citizens from many hazards associated with
employment. The social security program instituted in 1957 had
already provided protection superior to that available in many or
most developing countries, and in the 1980s the welfare available
to Libyans included much more than was provided under the social
security law: work injury and sickness compensation and disability,
retirement, and survivors' pensions. Workers employed by foreign
firms were entitled to the same social security benefits as workers
employed by Libyan citizens.
Subsidized food, inexpensive housing, free medical care and
education, and profit-sharing were among the benefits that eased
the lives of all citizens. The government protected the employed in
their jobs and subsidized the underemployed and unemployed. In
addition, there were nurseries to care for the children of working
mothers, orphanages for homeless children, and homes for the aged.
The welfare programs had reached even the oasis towns of the
desert, where they reportedly were received with considerable
satisfaction. The giving of alms to the poor remained one of the
pillars of the Islamic faith, but the extent of public welfare was
such that there was increasingly less place for private welfare.
Nonetheless, the traditional Arab sense of family responsibility
remained strong, and provision for needy relatives was still a
common practice.
Data as of 1987
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