Chairman of the Parliamentary Labor and Social Development Committee, Khaled Abu Hassan, called on the Ministry of Labor to regulate the labor market and replace Jordanian workers instead of expatriates, pointing to the need to strengthen the partnership between the public and private sectors and encourage investment.
He added, during the committee’s meeting today to discuss the “work” strategy, that the committee touched clear changes in the files being led by the ministry, reviewing the challenges facing Jordanian workers, such as the lack of their involvement by the social security employer.
He continued that the committee, in the presence of the Minister of Labor Nidal Al-Batayneh and a number of stakeholders in the ministry and the Arab Women Network, heard plans and strategy of the Ministry of Labor and discussed many issues of concern to citizens.
For their part, the deputies called Khaled Al-Fannatseh, Khaled Ramadan, Ibrahim Abu Al-Ezz, Hassan Al-Ajarma, Dima Tahboub and Abdel Rahman Al-Awayishah to increase the penalties for those who manipulate the minimum wages and reconsider their value, in addition to setting up facilities to employ the people of the Gaza Strip and the children of Jordanian women.
The Arab Women’s Network called for opening the door for employment to Gazans and building Jordanian women, as well as a heavy penalty for the employer who harassed workers.
In turn, Al-Bataina reviewed the strategy of the Ministry of Labor, which links it with its executive arms, "The Vocational Training Corporation, the Development and Employment Fund, and the Authority for the Development of Technical and Professional Skills," noting that the Ministry has formed a team that includes leaders in it to follow up on the strategy's work.
On correcting the conditions of foreign workers, Al-Batayneh stated that the number of workers corrected to their conditions amounted to about one hundred thousand and ten thousand workers, who completed their travel procedures, saying that the ministry was in front of a crossroads, either with collection or organizing the labor market, by closing many professions in front of foreign workers, where I preferred the latter.
Al-Batayneh expressed his dissatisfaction with vocational education in the Kingdom, pointing out that he will work with those concerned to develop courses to keep pace with developments in this type of vocational education.
Regarding the proposed amendments to the draft labor law, Al-Batayneh explained that the amendments increased the penalties for those who engage in illegal employment and for those who manipulate the minimum wages, in addition to granting the Minister of Labor the authority to grant work permits for a period of two years in front of some sectors, especially the agricultural sector, to enable farms.
Al Batayneh said that the Ministry is in the process of establishing a special unit to follow up the file of Gazans and children of Jordanian women, as well as the Ministry's endeavor to issue a special system for their employment.
He added that the Ministry will work to increase the punishment for the employer who harasses workers, and also the worker who harasses a worker, while a clear definition of sexual harassment will be developed.
He indicated that the ministry will soon issue a system for workers and workers in the agricultural sector in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of the Labor Law, which was amended in 2008.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Al-Batainah explained the details of those who were employed during the current year in the private sector, indicating that 7 thousand citizens left Work after their employment and the causes are being analyzed.