AMMAN — There seems to be no
end in sight to the series of disagreements between
Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) President Ahmad Sammarah Al-Zoubi, and several members of the
central board, who believe that the recent consultations on reforms that the
association has embarked on are mere formalities and do not satisfy members’
needs.
اضافة اعلان
The Cabinet last week approved
a set of amendments to the JEA’s 2021 retirement law, which aims to preserve
the retirement fund’s functions and financial position to continue to perform
its services.
Under the amendments, provisions
will be created for young engineers with a low subscription payment, giving
this segment conditional exemption from additional fees, in addition to placing
a ceiling on the number of subscriptions that allow members to obtain a
pension, and prevent members from shifting to higher segments in the last two
years before retirement. The measures aim to secure the fund’s financial
balance.
Zoubi highlighted the
importance of the recent amendments as they would serve to strengthen the fund’s
financial standing based on actuarial studies conducted by the association. The
new provisions would also encourage young engineers to contribute to the fund.
Not everybody, though, is
optimistic about the reforms. "I was a central board member for almost three
years before I resigned, and throughout that entire period I never saw one
institutional reform," said the head of JEA electrical engineering
division Malek Amayreh, who believed that the amendments “are just formalities that
miss the key issues and hardly meet the members’ needs.”
Amayreh said that the amendments
should have included legislation that allows the president to be held
accountable, “especially with regards to the JEA fund, which is estimated in
the millions of dinars.”
JEA Vice President Fawzi Masad
said that the JEA bylaws “are too old and needed to be reviewe,,” adding that a
decision was taken to update the bylaws through intensive consultations with
legal experts. He said any amendment must begin with new bylaws.
On December 24, the general
assembly will meet to approve the new law, after which it will be presented to the
Legislation and Opinion Bureau and Parliament for endorsement.
Masad said both current and
new members will appreciate the proposed amendments, voicing confidence that a
new law will help resolve many of the JEA’s challenges and will better serve
its members.
Four JEA board members resigned
earlier this month after clashing with the president over bylaw amendments and election
issues. All four resigned board members belong to the “Enjaz” political list,
an alliance between Islamists and independents.
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