AMMAN — Regulation issued in May last year to
secure a decent work environment and raise the level of production in the
strategic agriculture sector has yet to be abided by, people working in the
field said.
اضافة اعلان
The regulation ensures that, for first time in
Jordan, agricultural workers have fundamental protections on the job, including
guarantees for safe and decent working conditions.
It applies to all
workplaces that employ more than three agricultural workers, ensuring that they
receive 14 days annual paid leave and 14 days paid sick leave, or more, in
cases of serious illness, and that women are guaranteed 10 weeks paid maternity
leave. It also includes provisions for overtime pay, and, importantly, covers
migrant agricultural workers, who are rarely protected by labor laws of the
countries that employ them.
“Unfortunately, so far, regulation has not been
implemented,” the head of the Jordanian Workers’ House Hamada Abu Nijmeh told
Jordan
News.
According to Abu Nijmeh, no inspectors or observers
have been sent by the Ministry of Labor to check how employers adhere to
labor-protective legislation regarding, for example, working hours,
occupational health and safety, minimum pay, and other aspects.
“The Ministry of Labor is content with stating that
it is still in the process of generating awareness about this regulation,” said
Abu Nijmeh, who believes that working on raising awareness only shows lack of
will to address issues, “diminishes legal protections for agricultural
laborers, and obstructs Jordan’s vital legislative progress in including
agricultural workers in the labor laws”.
This, he said, “is not in the best interest of
either laborers or employers”.
The solution, Abu Nijmeh said, it to properly apply
the regulation, encourage employers to follow it, and “secure oversight of
their commitment to these rules, thereby strengthening this sector and enabling
it to provide its best”.
According to Ahmad Awad, the head of the Jordanian
Labor Watch, this regulation has been partially activated, but several
provisions and articles were disrupted by defense orders issued during the
pandemic.
Awad said that “its ratification was a step forward,
and having agricultural laborers covered by the Labor Law is a significant and
critical moment not only in Jordanian history, but also in the region”.
Saying that the number of infractions in this sector
“was high due to its size and seasonal nature, as well as the previous lack of
legal cover” of laborers, he emphasized that continued failure to abide by the
stipulations in the regulation “means continued violations against not only
employers, but the agricultural sector in general, which is globally regarded
as a vital, strategic, sector because it is linked to food security”.
Ministry of Labor spokesman Mohammad Zyoud told
Jordan
News that the ministry is committed to implementing legislation related to
agriculture workers, stressing that “the regulation has already been activated,
but the inspection and control procedures are gradual”.
“The ministry is currently focusing on raising
awareness and educating agricultural establishments on how to implement the
regulation related to their laborers, whether in terms of social security
contributions or creating a work environment that is designed to improve
working conditions and make the sector more attractive to Jordanians,” Zyoud
said.
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