At a time when Syria is supposed to begin rebuilding its institutions on the foundations of justice and efficiency, the country is suffering from a severe wage crisis that goes beyond low salaries and the collapse of their purchasing power to include stark disparities among employees within the same institution, even in official media. This deepens feelings of injustice and affects job performance and psychological stability for workers, amid chronic inflation and rising prices that render salaries insufficient to cover basic needs such as food, electricity, transportation, healthcare, and rent. This reflects a complex economic and social crisis.
Over recent months, complaints by employees and journalists in government institutions have escalated due to wage disparities between groups paid in dollars and the majority paid in Syrian pounds, amounting to no more than one hundred dollars per month, amid the absence of official instructions or clear standards. This has sparked debate over job equity and recruitment efficiency and created tension within institutions, particularly official media, where long serving staff work for low wages while newly appointed employees receive higher pay. This risks emptying public service of its meaning and turning it into a field of unequal competition.
Structural flaw in human resources management
Speaking to +963, Jamal al-Zoubi, an employee in the financial sector, says the wage crisis in government institutions has moved beyond low pay to become a structural flaw resulting from the absence of a clear and fair policy for human resources management after the fall of the regime. He notes that what is happening reflects administrative confusion rather than a genuine reform path.
He explains that wage disparities within the same institution and paid in different currencies have created a rift in job equity, as employees compare their salaries with colleagues performing the same work while earning several times more. He points out that new employees receiving 400 to 800 dollars while others have spent more than fifteen years earning less than one hundred dollars constitutes a clear injustice.
Al-Zoubi adds that justifying disparities under the pretext of attracting new talent ignores the importance of veteran staff who maintained continuity of work without incentives. He warns that disregarding years of experience and career progression undermines trust between employees and the state and pushes some toward emigration, parallel work, or silent resignation.
He warns that continuing this situation will turn public service from a source of security into a constant source of stress, calling for restructuring the wage scale on clear foundations that link pay to responsibility, the nature of work, and years of service. He stresses that without fair and transparent treatment, the gap will persist and tensions will continue to grow within institutions.
For her part, Nada, a journalist working at the official Al-Thawra newspaper who preferred not to reveal her real name, tells +963 that wage disparities within official media have become one of the most painful issues for veteran journalists because they strike at the core of professional justice and undermine the very idea of career recognition.
Nada adds, “I have worked in journalism for more than fifteen years, and we went through years in which working conditions were extremely harsh, from security pressures to suffocating living burdens. Yet we remained, worked, produced, and stayed committed to our institutions.”
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Timing of appointment instead of years of experience
She continues, “Today we find ourselves earning a salary in Syrian pounds whose real value does not exceed one hundred dollars, while new colleagues appointed after the fall of the regime receive salaries in dollars reaching 300 or 400 dollars, and in some offices even more.”
She points out that the problem does not lie in the principle of improving the salaries of new journalists, but rather in the absence of any clear or fair standard that explains this wide gap and puts an end to unchecked administrative discretion.
She says, “We are not against any journalist living with dignity, but it is illogical for the timing of appointment to be rewarded more than years of experience. We do the same work, cover the same files, and face similar professional pressures, yet the salary gap is vast to the point of being humiliating.”
Nada adds that this reality has created an unspoken division within newsrooms, where journalists now feel they belong to two different job tiers within the same institution, negatively affecting professional cooperation and team spirit.
Silence out of fear of accusation
She also notes that many veteran journalists have begun to avoid demanding their rights out of fear of stigma or accusation.
She says, “Any objection or question is sometimes met with political insinuations or indirect accusations that you are a remnant of the previous phase. This is a suffocating climate that makes a journalist feel forced to choose between silence and having their professional history questioned.”
Nada concludes by stressing that official media cannot regain its role or the trust of its staff without fair and transparent treatment of the wage issue.
The telecommunications sector, pressure beyond subsistence
In turn, Batoul al-Ahmad, an employee in the telecommunications sector, says that wage disparities within government institutions are no longer merely a matter of numbers, but have become a daily psychological and social pressure on veteran employees. She affirms that the absence of wage justice has caused many to lose a sense of the value of their work and their role within their institutions.
Al-Ahmad tells +963, “I have worked in the telecommunications sector for years, performing sensitive technical and administrative tasks that require daily commitment and constant work pressure.”
She notes that her salary is still paid in Syrian pounds and its real value does not exceed one hundred dollars, while new employees working in the same department receive salaries in dollars reaching 300 or 400 dollars, and sometimes more.
She says, “When you work alongside someone performing the same task while earning three or four times your salary, it becomes difficult to maintain motivation or a sense of belonging to the place.”
Justice as a condition for institutional survival
Al-Ahmad stresses that the problem is not opposition to improving the salaries of new employees, but rather the absence of a clear policy that guarantees justice for all and takes into account years of service, experience, and responsibilities.
She concludes by saying, it is impossible to build a strong public sector if its employees feel invisible. Justice in wages is not a luxury, but a fundamental condition for the survival of institutions and their ability to continue serving people.
In conclusion, the wage crisis within state institutions reveals a deep dysfunction that goes beyond figures and calculations to touch the essence of the relationship between the employee and the state, and the meaning of job justice in a phase that is supposed to be both transitional and foundational at the same time.
The continuation of sharp wage disparities within the same institution, and paid in different currencies, not only threatens employees’ living stability, but also undermines internal trust and turns the work environment into a space charged with frustration and division.
Ignoring years of service, experience, and career progression in favor of rewarding the timing of appointment or the type of contract sends a negative message that long term commitment has no value, and that remaining in public service is no longer a guarantee of stability or recognition. This directly affects performance quality and weakens institutions’ ability to fulfill their role in serving society during the reconstruction phase.
In sensitive sectors such as media, telecommunications, and finance, this dysfunction becomes even more dangerous because it strikes at the foundations of professionalism and independence, opening the door to the emigration of talent or their silent withdrawal from public work. Therefore, addressing the wage file is no longer a postponed option, but an urgent necessity that requires a transparent policy restoring the principle of justice and linking pay to experience and responsibility, as the true entry point to building stable state institutions capable of enduring.
