AMMAN — The
Ministry of Labor received 7,744 complaints regarding unpaid wages in 2021, head of the
ministry’s Central Inspection Directorate Haitham Al-Najdawi said.
اضافة اعلان
There are several reasons wages were
not paid, he told
Jordan News, “but one of the most prominent is the
impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic and the difficult economic conditions that
resulted from it”.
The number of complaints, he said, “vary
from month to month because of many factors. For example, the number increased during
the last months of the year due to the termination of contracts at the end of
each year”.
However, Najdawi said that complaints
tend to follow the same rhythm: “The number of complaints that were received in January this year were
almost similar to those that were received in the same month of last year.”
Najdawi mentioned the Hemaya
platform, which gives the employee the opportunity to submit a complaint in
complete secrecy.
“The ministry receives the complaint
directly, then it transfers it to the inspector concerned who reviews it and
pays a visit to the institution, to be sure of its validation. If the complaint
is valid, the institution is penalized financially and follow-up is carried out
with the complainant,” he added.
The Central Inspection Directorate
at the Ministry of Labor received 18,125 complaints related to salaries in the
first 11 months of last year.
According to official statistics
made available
Jordan News, 141 people complained about being forced to
submit leave without pay, and 980 complained about being forced to resign.
The directorate also received 1,154
objections to legal action by an institution, and 164 claims regarding annual
leave allowance.
The number of complaints that were received in January this year were almost similar to those that were received in the same month of last year.
No complaints or observations were
received regarding employees' work during religious holidays, official
holidays, and weekends.
Also received were 781 complaints
regarding employees’ termination of a fixed-term employment contract, 1,730
complaints about work suspension, and 774 complaints about lower wages.
Figures also showed six complaints
regarding the employment of women, 217 complaints from employees forced to do work
that differed from the nature of their work, and 44 cases of confiscation of workers’
passports.
The ministry also dealt with 377
complaints concerning requests for certificates of experience, and 76 requests
for copies of the work contract, 1,137 complaints about not being paid the
minimum wage, and 148 complaints about lack of safety standards in the place of
work.
Workers' House Director
Hamada Abu Nijmeh told
Jordan News that the figures do not reflect a real picture
of the complaints that are actually made, and that "the numbers may be
much higher".
He added that “a large number of
employees are afraid to file a complaint when something happens with them for
fear of repercussions, such as being fired, for example”.
He said that there should be a real
mechanism that monitors the performance of employees, but that “preventive
measures should be taken, too, so that the employee does not have to even file
a complaint".
Abu Nijmeh stressed that employees
who face recurring problems at work “should promptly file a complaint with the
Ministry of Labor, especially since the Hemaya system enables employees to
submit a complaint without having to mention their name, which guarantees them
protection. Some companies persist in depriving employees of their rights when
they see that they take no action”.
He pointed to the importance of submitting
electronic payroll statements to the Ministry of Labor so that the ministry can
ensure that all employees have received their salaries, "especially since
it will be difficult for the ministry to visit all companies and institutions
in the Kingdom”. Moreover, he said, “institutions can pay wages through banks,
and this is an effective way to ensure that wages are paid."
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