AMMAN — The support programs extended
by the
Social Security Corporation (SSC) to the clothing, shoe, and textile sector
helped it retain its workers despite the negative repercussions the
COVID-19 pandemic had on it, Asaad Al-Qawasmi, who represents the clothing sector at the
Jordan Chamber of Commerce, told
Jordan News.اضافة اعلان
The clothing sector in Jordan
is still going through tough times due to the pandemic, he said, but it cannot bring
itself to get rid of its workers, even though more than 53,000 people work in
the field.
Qawasmi stressed the need to
continue to include the clothing sector in the support programs provided by SSC,
making special mention of “Estidama”, which encourages shops owners to continue
to expand their businesses. If that is going to happen, he said, the sector
cannot afford to dismiss labor force.
If “workers do not lose their
jobs, unemployment rates will be maintained”, instead of going up, he said,
which is an added bonus.
Qawasmi said that the
government should support the sector to enable it to withstand the difficulties
it faces, especially the significant decline in the purchasing power of the
population.
He also urged the concerned
authorities “to conduct a quick and genuine review of the current policy to
address its loopholes, and to lift tax exemptions on post parcels, to place an
even tax burden on all types of trade”, referring to the online shopping that
is being blamed for the loss of a large portion of the consumer market,
particularly among the younger generation.
According to Qawasmi,
"Estidama" provided support by paying part of the salaries of people
in the clothing sector, affected by the decline in commercial activity, the
high operating costs and the decline in imports.
President of the Garment
Traders Association Sultan Allan said that the reason the clothing sector hung
on to its workers during the pandemic is the defense order that banned
employers from laying off employees, predicting that “if the government decides
to lift defense orders next year, many employees will lose their jobs”.
The sector is going through a dire
situation, he said, adding that retail sales dropped by 40 percent in 2021, compared
to 2019, “due to the fact that people are saving their money and that citizens’
priorities changed in view of the pandemic”.
“We witnessed a significant
drop in our imports, too; they decreased from JD237 million in 2019 to JD195
million in 2021,” Allan said.
The majority of Jordan's
imports of clothing and shoes are from Turkey and China, but also from some
Arab,
European, and
Asian countries.
Even “White Friday” sales were
below ambition, Allan said, stressing that the markets witnessed a 30–50
percent decline "despite the prior preparations and commercial
advertisements”.
Merchants were waiting for
White Friday to pay their obligations and offset some of the losses they
suffered as a result of the pandemic, Allan said, but “this did not happen”.
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