WASHINGTON — In the latest sign of escalating trouble in the effort to rebuild Iraq, thousands of Iraqi workers are refusing to show up for construction jobs because of spreading anti-Americanism and ongoing security problems, industry and occupation officials said Tuesday.
At the same time, a growing number of American and foreign contractors working in Iraq have suspended their activities, relocating staff to more stable areas or in some cases pulling out of the country entirely.
The two trends have led occupation and industry officials to worry that the delays might postpone the rebuilding effort that is crucial to providing jobs and basic services to help calm the restive Iraqi populace.
"Everybody accepts the fact that we have to move forward on the construction," U.S. Navy Capt. Bruce Cole, a spokesman in Baghdad for the coalition office that oversees construction contracts, said by telephone. "A lot of Iraqis are looking for jobs and a livelihood. A lot of the folks involved in the unrest wouldn’t be there if they were giving up their jobs to go do it."
As many as one-third of about 5,300 Iraqis working at various construction sites throughout Baghdad failed to show up last week. At some sites in particularly dangerous areas, nearly half the workers abandoned their jobs.
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