On Saturday, the House of Workers for Studies issued a report on the occasion of Human Rights Day, which the world celebrates on the tenth of December of each year, the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the year 1948, as this year’s celebration highlights on the principles of equality and non-discrimination.

The report reviewed the conditions and circumstances of work and workers in Jordan, as a result of Jordan’s adoption of the National Program for Decent Work in 2006, which considered issues of social justice, decent work and respect for basic rights at work as the basis for legislative reforms and reforming social and economic policies.

The report indicated that although the Jordanian constitution affirmed in a number of its articles the consolidation of the principle of equality between Jordanians in rights and duties, and the right of all citizens to work and to hold public office and appointment to public office, and to ensure that the worker is given a wage commensurate with the quantity and quality of his work. And despite Jordan’s ratification of (26) international labor conventions that represent the rules pertaining to human rights at work, including Convention No. 100 on equal pay for work of equal value, and Convention No. 111 on discrimination in employment or occupation, both of which Jordan has ratified since 1960s, however, it did not reflect the principles of equality and non-discrimination at work that were contained therein in its legislation and procedures, with the exception of the amendment made to the Labor Law in 2019, which included adding a definition of discrimination in wages on the basis of sex when the value of work is equal. However, this amendment did not It enjoys practical application, and no case or complaint regarding it has reached any of the supervisory or judicial authorities due to its lack of factors that reinforce its obligation, especially as a result of the lack of rules for objective evaluation of jobs in the Jordanian labor legislation. Me, at a time, cases of discrimination at work are still widely practiced, whether related to wages or other rights, including discrimination in obtaining the opportunity to work, in job promotion, in obtaining earnings, and in termination of services, and in particular cases of discrimination against special groups such as women migrant workers and people with disabilities, without any legislative provisions or measures of any kind to address them.

With regard to employment rates, the report indicated that the economic participation rate of the population (15 years and over) amounted to (33.5%), which is one of the lowest rates in the world, with a significant difference between both males and females, as male participation rates increased to more than three times. Compared to females, where the economic participation of males recorded (53.2%), compared to (14.2%) for females, a disparity that has been a prevalent pattern in the Jordanian labor market over the past decades, at a time when unemployment continued to rise to record levels even before the pandemic, when It was (19.1%) at the end of 2019, to reach (22.6%) in the second quarter of the current year 2022, and the gap is still wide in the chances of females obtaining work compared to males, as the unemployment rate among females reached (29.4%) , compared to (20.7%) for males.

While the number of Jordanian workers reached about (1,377,905) workers, with a rate of only 26% of those of working age, the percentage of males among them reached (81.9%), while the percentage of females did not exceed (18.1%) only, as witnessed in the labor market since In 2018, there was a clear decline in the net job opportunities created compared to previous years, as it reached (38,906) in 2018, while the number of new entrants to the labor market as researchers is approximately 130,000 annually.

With regard to informal (unorganized) employment, the report indicated that the percentage of informal workers is about (48%) of the total labor force, (26%) of whom work in the private sector, and (17%) work for their own account, where the percentage of females is Workers in the informal economy account for 27% of the total female workforce, compared to 48% for males. Most of the informal workers suffer from the absence of legal protections stipulated in the Labor Law, and social protection, including social security and health insurance, in addition to poor working conditions. Difficult work, violations of their rights, and work injuries in light of the lack of occupational safety conditions.

The Workers’ House report indicated that the Corona pandemic had revealed the fragility of the labor market and the lack of social protection requirements among groups of workers, especially groups working in the informal economy. In light of the indications that this category has expanded further at the expense of the organized sector as a result of the pandemic and the loss of nearly 200 thousand jobs during the years 2020 and 2021, which requires building a system of rules that better support the most vulnerable groups and achieve the necessary protection for them, whether from Where they are included in social insurance or other legal protections in labor legislation in particular, and effective policies are put in place for that, like other workers, as a first step towards encouraging their transition from the informal to the organized economy.

With regard to working hours, the report clarified that the data indicates that (57.3%) of Jordanian and non-Jordanian workers work average hours between (35-48) hours per week, and that (37.3%) work 49 hours or more, i.e. more than the normal working hours permitted by the law. Labor Law, the percentage of females who work 49 hours or more is (20.6%), and the percentage of males is (40.1%). We find that the percentage of non-Jordanian workers who work 49 hours or more is very high, reaching (63.6%), among females (60.9%) and among Males (63.9%).

The report indicated that other elements related to the concept of decent work still represent common challenges facing Jordanian and non-Jordanian workers, especially in the education, agriculture and domestic work sectors, such as delayed payment of wages, non-payment of overtime hours, and non-granting of the minimum wage. , weak ground for social dialogue, weak safety and occupational health procedures, and exploitation and forced labor, at a time when the amendments to the Labor Law of 2019 added other restrictions on labor union activity that increased the poor performance of labor unions, when they required that their internal regulations be audited by the Ministry of Labor, and allowed the Minister of Labor to solve Any administrative body for any union, and it gave the Minister of Labor the authority to classify professions for the purposes of establishing unions.

The report recommended that work be done at this stage to strengthen the capabilities of social safety nets, increase their allocations, and direct them to various vulnerable groups of citizens and various low-income families, as well as continue to provide them with urgent cash and in-kind assistance, increase the value of subsidies, expand the beneficiary groups, and expand coverage of health insurance. For everyone who does not have official or private insurance, and reduce the value of social security contributions, as well as provide the necessary support for small and medium enterprises to maintain the continuity of their work and protect the job opportunities they provide, and increase the purchasing power of the citizen and exempt the basic commodities that he needs from tax in order to revive the economic movement, and activate The law regarding the employment of people with disabilities and their protection from discrimination in employment opportunities.

The Workers’ House report stressed that in light of the inability of the Jordanian labor market to absorb the huge numbers of new entrants, especially university graduates, the time has come to work hard to reform educational policies to reduce the increase in unemployment rates among university students, and to move towards rehabilitating technical and technical workers that are lacking. It needs the labor market in many sectors, activating the necessary coordination with the private sector to monitor its real needs for specializations and programs that are consistent with the technical requirements of its work, and to develop comprehensive national strategies that combine educational policies and programs on the one hand, and policies and programs for employment, training and vocational and technical education on the other hand. These measures will reduce the factors that contribute to the expected increase in unemployment rates and exacerbate them, as well as the loss of jobs in a way that threatens negative effects on social security.

And given that working women are still more vulnerable to difficulties, violations, and job loss, in light of the chronic decline in the economic participation rate of Jordanian women, the report recommended that the application of international standards related to women’s work, protections and rights be activated, and interaction between the government and private sector organizations to provide requirements for strengthening the status of women. Women in the labor market, expanding their professional options, providing them with the necessary skills and training, raising their awareness of available job opportunities, safety and social protection policies, spreading awareness of the rights of working women among employers, the rules of gender equality, equal opportunities in recruitment, promotion and training procedures, and activating mechanisms Facilitating and motivating for the application of flexible work forms, and providing an infrastructure for social care for working women with an appropriate quality and cost (services and facilities, nurseries, transportation…)

At the level of social policies, the Workers’ House report indicated the need to work on developing policies to reduce poverty and improve the social conditions of families of working children, whose number is expected to have increased to more than 100,000 working children, after their number before the pandemic was approximately 76,000 children. Nearly 45,000 of them are employed in hazardous work, as well as those who are exposed to the labor market as a result of the difficulties faced by the heads of their families, supporting families exposed to social and psychological risks and linking them to social safety nets and strengthening the role of the local community in improving the conditions of vulnerable families, protecting vulnerable children, and rehabilitating children Workers who have been exposed to social or psychological problems, integrate them into society, and protect them from abuse, psychological and physical abuse, or violence.

(The kingdom)