AMMAN — The Coalition Against Violence and
Harassment in the Place of Work has called for removing all restrictions that
hinder workers' right to form and join trade unions, among other labor-related
demands, through amendments to the Labor Law.
اضافة اعلان
The
demands were made during a meeting held Friday by the coalition member
organizations with experts and representatives of international NGOs, who all
agreed on the need to empower all workers to benefit in an optimal way from
negotiations to settle
labor disputes, social dialogue, and collective
negotiations, in addition to enabling the administrative bodies of trade unions
to draft their own statutes.
The
head of the
Workers’ House, Hamada Abu Najma, said that several civil society
organizations, human rights activists, and trade unionists demanded a review of
the provisions of the Labor Law related to union organization, and that all
categories of workers subject to the provisions of the Labor Law be included in
the right to form unions and collective bargaining groups, including
agricultural workers and domestic helpers.
The
coalition issued a position paper last week demanding the abolition of the
powers granted by the Labor Law to the minister of labor in the 2019 amendments
to the code, which included the right to dissolve the administrative bodies of
trade unions. The activists said such authority should be limited to the
judiciary, as part of measures that protect unions from abuse.
They
also include the power to identify professions and trades whose workers have
the right to establish unions; the ministry’s approval of the unions’ statues
is mandatory.
The
paper described these powers as interference in union work affairs and a
restriction of the freedom of union action, in violation of the Jordanian
Constitution and international labor conventions joined by the Kingdom.
The
paper also recommended working out the necessary mechanisms to enable
representatives of trade unions to carry out their mandates, provided for in
Article 107 of the Labor Law, and moving toward enacting a special law to
organize unionist action in the Kingdom that is inclusive of all workers in the
private and public sectors, calling on the government to ratify the International
Labor Convention No. 87, on freedom of association and safeguarding workers' right
to establish representative bodies freely and without any discrimination, and
the right of unions to draw up their internal regulations and organize their
management, activities and programs without any interference from authorities.
The
coalition issued a statement stressing that the recommendations listed in the
paper are based on solid foundations enshrined in the Jordanian Constitution
and international labor conventions, citing Article 16/2 of the Constitution,
which stipulates that “Jordanians have the right to form associations and
political parties, provided that their goals are legitimate and their means are
peaceful, and their by-laws do not violate the Constitution”.
They also
quoted other constitutional articles and international rules governing labor
rights, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In
response, Lawyer Issa Al-Mazariq, who heads the awareness unit at the
National Center for Human Rights (NCHR), said that the center has a "consistent
position on workers' right to establish unions, and has issued more than one
statement supporting the right to start independent unions and several
statements during the
Teachers' Association crisis, during which it dealt with
complaints filed by teachers… and has demanded in its annual reports that the
necessary legislative amendments be carried out to ensure these rights."
Ayman
Halaseh, a lawyer and professor in public international law and human rights,
also protested the government's powers to decide who has and who does not have the
right to establish a union, stressing that relevant constitutional provision
underline the concept "freedom" in the right to establish unions and
associations.
"This
means that this process should be protected from any interference, either from
the government or from employers, a matter which is in harmony with the
international standards and conventions entered by Jordan."
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