AMMAN — As of December 15, strict measures, including
deportation, will be taken against unvaccinated foreign workers in Jordan, said
Labor Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Zyoud on Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
Defense Order No. 32, issued last July, prohibits issuing
work permits or renewing annual residence permits to individuals who did not
receive the first dose of the
COVID-19 vaccine or missed the appointment for
the second dose.
According to Zyoud, the Ministry of Labor will also issue
lists with names of illegal workers and send them to the Ministry of Interior, adding
that the ministry has inspection teams tasked with finding migrant workers who
do not comply with defense orders and the country’s laws, and are deported as a
result.
However, the Labor Ministry does not have the authority to
check on the vaccination status of guest workers, it may only check the
validity of their work permits, said Zyoud.
Zyoud said his ministry also has jurisdiction over domestic
helpers who flee the houses where they are legally allowed to work for other
jobs or in other houses, and that if caught, unless they rectify their legal
status, they are also deported.
The ministry spokesperson urged employers to report cases of
runaway domestic helpers to the concerned agencies, but also to encourage
domestic workers to get vaccinated.
As of December 15, the Ministry of Interior will start
taking measures against unvaccinated guest workers, including deportation, with
a view to ensuring public safety in general and to protecting the workers
themselves from infection, said a ministry source, noting that the vaccine is
available for free and there is no need to present residency or work permits in
order to get the jab.
Abu Ali, an Egyptian who has been working in Jordan for 25
years, told Jordan News that he took the second
jab two months ago “because I want to protect myself, my family and other
people, as you do not know were the virus comes from and the vaccine is the
only way for me”.
The workers have the responsibility to take the vaccine to
protect their health and their careers, he added.
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