AMMAN — A workshop kicked off a series of
debates on protection in the working
environment in Jordan and recommendations
for enhancing the social protection system for vulnerable populations.
اضافة اعلان
The workshop was held Wednesday under the umbrella
of the Amman-based Phenix Center for Economics and Informatics Studies in
collaboration with the Worker’s House, a Jordan-based non-governmental
organization which seeks to improve working conditions for laborers.
The meeting, entitled “The Dangers of Informal Work
on
Social Protection in Jordan,” kicked off with a debate on social protection
in post- COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa.
Studies suggest that many workers, specifically in
what is called “unorganized labor,” and lack social protection, occupational
safety, proper health conditions. “Unorganized labor” refers to workers who
hold daily jobs and earn variable daily wages.
The studies point to inappropriate work conditions,
such as long working hours, insufficient or lack of holidays and insignificant
wages to workers, said Hamada Abu Nijmeh, head of the Jordanian Workers’ House.
He told
Jordan News that the ‘’unorganized labor”
sector employs 48 percent of the total workers prior to the
COVID-19 outbreak.
The remainder hold steady jobs with monthly wages, or are self-employed, he
said.
However, he added, the pandemic hiked the number of
“unorganized” workers, as approximately 110,000 workers have lost their jobs,
with a majority of them are expected to take up jobs in the informal sector.
“The main reason for the increased size of the
informal labor is the country’s economic problems, which has weakened the
chances of creating jobs opportunities, swelled poverty, and hiked violations,”
he said.
Abu Nijmeh explained that
social security, in its
current form, is unable to cover all types of work in Jordan. He demanded the
establishment of a comprehensive social security system that is not solely
dependent on contributions from workers and employers.
He stressed that the comprehensive social security
system must include all citizens without exception, and called for a portion of
the state budget be allocated to social security, which is funded by taxes.
Abu Nijmeh emphasized that Jordan’s social protection
system must be reconsidered as an essential component in reducing the number of
workers in the “informal economy” and facilitating their transition to the
“formal economy”.
Addressing the workshop, Abu Nijmeh said workers in
the “unorganized labor” lack legal protections. “They are excluded from social
security, occupational safety and have no health protection. They receive less
than the minimum wages, are more vulnerable to workplace risks, and do not
receive any benefits from growth, training, and competency programs, rendering
their jobs unstable.”
Ahmad Awad, director of the
Phenix Center and
Jordan Labor Watch, urged the government to set up a sustainable insurance system so
that all workers, not only those with Jordanian citizenship, can enroll in
social security.
He said the self-employed, including many in the
agricultural and transportation sectors, are the largest among the “unorganized
labor”.
To avoid paying charges, many businesses ignore
giving insurance benefits to workers by failing to register them with the
social security network, Awad said.
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