AMMAN — The workers
operating at
APM Terminals (APMT, an international port-operating company), who
have been on strike for almost a month, threatened to take escalatory measures if
their demand of being hired on longer-term contracts is not met, since under
the present arrangement, they could be dismissed any time.
اضافة اعلان
Thaer
Bostaji, spokesman of the worker’s committee, told
Jordan News that
their protest will continue until their demands are met, “especially that the
management of the container port threatens the workers with dismissal at any
time, which means that we completely lack job security”.
He said
workers felt that the concerned parties would not move to take serious steps
and find real solutions to their grievances, most importantly issue workers
with contracts on permanent basis, unless they strike.
Bostaji said
the sit-in became the workers’ last resort after many attempts to negotiate
with the port administration ended in no result, adding that "we are
determined to set up a sit-in tent in front of the House of Representatives and
another one in front of the Ministry of Labor until our rights are granted."
So far, he
said, "we have only received promises that have not been fulfilled until
this moment, and there is no support for us from any party"; worse, “the
company's management deals with the strike as if it did not exist”.
A source from
the
Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority told
Jordan News that the most
prominent demand of the APMT workers is to join the staff of the
Aqaba Container Terminal, which they consider as having the best privileges.
ACT Managing
Director Khalil Abul Hawa told
Jordan News that ACT and APMT are
separate companies and "ACT rejects the request of those workers to
join the company because it contradicts the human resources management strategy
and the company's vision."
He said that
employees have the right to claim any labor rights, a right enshrined in the
Jordanian labor laws, adding that they had already entered a labor dispute with
the Ministry of Labor, a dispute that was to be settled through conciliation, but
"we did not reach a solution, and the case was transferred to the Labor Court,
which will issue a decision within a period of 30 days. The decision will then be
binding on all parties".
Director of
Labor Relations at the
Ministry of Labor Adnan Al-Dahamsheh confirmed that the
labor dispute went through the legal channels, from direct negotiation to the
Conciliation Council, where it reached no result, and then was referred through
the Ministry of Labor to the Labor Court, where there is an opportunity for
employer and workers to reach consensus, but if not, the court will issue a
decision that “will be irrevocable and not discriminate against any party”.
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