Phenix Center for Economic & Informatics Studies Phenix Center for Economic & Informatics Studies
The Jordanian Labor Watch (JLW) confirmed that the approval of the draft 2023 Jordanian Labor Supply System, currently before the Council of Ministers, will create a regression in working conditions and open the door to illegal practices in many sectors in which Jordanian workers will be employed.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Jordanian Labor Watch, affiliated with the Phenix Center for Economic and Information Studies, explained that there is an imbalance in the legal affiliation of these workers; they are legally affiliated, according to the system, to the supply companies that provide the service, while they work in the institutions benefiting from the service.
This imbalance will contribute to the “exploitation of workers and will create a disparity in rights between them and their counterparts in the same job and tasks belonging to those institutions benefiting from the service,” the Jordanian Labor Watch noted in the statement, and thus may “deprive them of their rights” stipulated in the labor and social security laws.
During its monitoring of similar fields such as security and protection companies and allied health services companies, the Jordanian Labor Watch noted numerous violations of workers’ rights in terms of low wages, denial of social security, long working hours, and lack of job security.
“By approving this system, the government is trying to legalize this type of work without taking into account its negative effects on thousands of Jordanian workers,” the Jordanian Labor Watch said.
The Jordanian Labor Watch explained that these measures are the result of the recent regressive amendments to Article 10 of the Labor Law, according to which this regulation was issued in addition to another previously issued regulation, the Regulation of Private Offices for the Employment of Jordanians inside and outside the Kingdom for the year 2023.
He also finds that these measures reflect the government’s tendency to adopt policies that weaken labor conditions under the pretext of boosting the economy and stimulating investment and abandon the gains that have been achieved in the process of promoting a decent work environment.
Many indicators, especially the monitoring carried out by the Jordanian Labor Watch, clearly show that the majority of wage earners in Jordan suffer from inadequate working conditions, whether in terms of lack of job opportunities, low wage levels, large numbers of unorganized workers (not covered by social security), lack of job security and stability, and widespread violations and abuses of their labor and human rights stipulated in Jordanian labor legislation.
The Jordanian Labor Watch believes that adopting a cost-cutting plan at the expense of labor rights will only produce poorer workers, which will increase poverty rates and the economic gap between categories of workers in the same job and task.
He emphasized that this draft contradicts internationally recognized decent work standards, which include providing workers with sufficient wages to achieve a decent standard of living, providing opportunities for career development, and strengthening social protection and social security measures for all workers in a sustainable manner.
The draft also violates the relevant ILO conventions, especially Convention No. 100 on Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value, ratified by Jordan, as well as the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, especially with regard to the elimination of discrimination in employment and occupation.
The Jordanian Labor Watch called on the government to refrain from approving the system until amendments are made to ensure the protection of the rights of male and female workers when they are employed in the beneficiary institutions.
It also called on the concerned government agencies, especially the Ministry of Labor and the Social Security Institution, to intensify inspections and monitoring of these institutions and supply companies, especially the labor contracts concluded between them.
