AMMAN — The
Social Security Corporation (SSC) on
Saturday said that 11,000 women benefited from maternity insurance in 2021, at
a cost of about JD12.3 million, while in 2020, the number stood at 10,000
women, at a cost of about JD11.3 million.
اضافة اعلان
According to the SSC, insured women are paid a
monthly amount equivalent to the last wage registered with the SSC at the start
of the maternity leave for the entire leave period, which is currently 10
weeks, as specified in the Jordanian Labor Law.
The amount is paid upon the issuance of the child’s
birth certificate to women working in the private sector who had subscribed to
the SSC for a period of no less than six continuous months.
Women’s affairs activist Nuha Al-Muhairiz said that
maternity insurance ensures that women continue to be paid during maternity
leave, adding that women receive all their social security entitlements as well
as an allowance for caring for their newborn for a period of six months.
“Certainly, this contributes to reducing the
unemployment rate among women and encourages the private sector to enhance
women’s economic participation. However, it is necessary to know the extent of
the stability of the job position for these women and to guarantee their right
to promotion, though the figure announced by the SSC makes us question the
birth-spacing for each woman, and whether the maternity insurance is taken as
an opportunity to repeat pregnancy in later years,” she said.
Governance expert and public affairs activist Badi
Al-Beqa’in said that maternity insurance is an SSC program that helps enhance
women’s participation in economy; women make up 14 percent of the labor force
in Jordan.
Beqa’in stressed that incentives must be given,
especially to the private sector, to encourage employers to appoint women, in
view of the fact that some prefer to hire men, due to women’s marriage and
childbearing, and that this measure will help increase women’s participation in
the labor market.
He said there is need to look into the issue of
women participating in the optional social security system, which does not
cover maternity insurance.
“This point is very important, and it would have
been better to increase the participation rate, and to provide an optional
maternity insurance to participating women.”
According to Beqa’in, women who work in the private
sector get pregnant but have not paid social security contribution for at least
six month before do not benefit from maternity insurance, and this is unfair,
given that the goal is to improve women’s economic participation, prevent
discrimination by employers, and achieve job security and stability for women.
SSC spokesperson Yasser Al-Akroush reiterated the
fact that maternity insurance enhances women’s participation in the private
sector labor market, adding that woman are insured appreciate the benefit of
contributing to the SSC and continue to do so until retirement.
He said that the figures prove the success of the
SSC’s media campaigns in favor of maternity insurance, and of its campaigns to
inform women of the terms and conditions of this insurance, as well as of the
benefits.
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