INFORMATION ON LABOR IN JORDAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 002571 SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR DRL/IL GEORGE WHITE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB SUBJECT: INFORMATION ON LABOR IN JORDAN REF: A. STATE 9965 ¶B. AMMAN 2539 ¶C. 02 AMMAN 7312 ¶D. AMMAN 1533 ¶E. 02 AMMAN 3761 ¶1. (U) The following information is provided per reftel A instructions. ¶2. (SBU) Answers are keyed to reftel a. ¶I. Capacity and structure of Ministry of Labor a. Ministry structure The Ministry (MOL) consists of 16 departments in addition to the Minister's office. These departments include, inter alia: Safety and Occupational Health, Labor Relations, International Cooperation, a Child Labor Unit, and Wages Authority. The MOL's staff consists of 386 employees. b. Funding The MOL is funded through the central government budget. The MOL's budget for 2003 is USD 2.34 million (up from USD 1.96 million in 2002). Revenues for work and residency permits for non-Jordanian labor was USD 35.25 million in 2003 (up from USD 35.1 million in 2002). Capital expenses for the Ministry totaled USD 1 million is 2003 (there were no capital expenditures in 2002). For comparative purposes, the GOJ central government's overall budget for 2003 is as follows: current expenses USD 2.8 billion, capital expenses USD 708 million and total domestic revenues USD 2.5 billion. c. Functions Pursuant to law 53 of 1992 and regulation 38 of 1994, the ministry's functions are: i. Supervision of all labor issues in Jordan. ii. Support Jordanian labor abroad and develop labor relations with host countries. iii. Regulate the local labor market and employment offices. iv. Support labor unions and employers organizations. v. Contribute to labor education and vocational training. vi. Develop relations with Arab and International labor organizations. d. Regional and local office structure The Ministry operates 22 regional departments throughout the country, 5 of which are in Amman. II. Other GOJ entities with labor portfolio duties/responsibilities: The Jordanian Social Security department is mainly a retirement fund; it is chaired by the Minister of Labor. The GOJ has a central recruitment and hiring department that manages personnel issues of the GOJ and its agencies. III. Legal framework a. Constitution Articles 6, 13, 23 and 56 of the Jordanian constitution cover labor issues and relations. i. Article 6 guarantees equality and equal opportunity for all Jordanians; Jordan guarantees the rights of all to labor and education, "within its means." ii. Article 13 guarantees that Jordanians cannot be drafted into forced labor unless there is war or a court ruling. iii. Article 23 specifies the following right-to-work clause: "All enjoy the right to work; the State guarantees the working conditions and legislation as follows: working hours, vacations, women and child labor, applicable health laws and union organization." iv. Article 56 outlines labor administrative issues in the public sector b. Labor code The most recent labor law is Law number 8 of year 1996. The law has 142 articles spread over 12 sections. The main sections: i. Section 3 Employment and Vocational Training ii. Section 4 Employment Contracts iii. Section 6 Group Contracts iv. Section 7 Wage Issues and Rights v. Section 8 through 10 Vacations, Safety and Occupational Health vi. Section 11 Labor Unions vii. Section 12 Labor dispute resolution system c. Supplementary laws In addition to the labor law, there are regulations and instructions governing the daily aspects of work and labor in Jordan. d. Industrial relations or labor courts There are labor courts pursuant to section 12 of the labor law. III. Function policy areas a. Industrial relations i. Section 6 of the labor law governs group contracts; Section 11 governs labor unions. ii. Section 12 governs dispute resolution. The first stage in dispute resolution is handled by an arbitration council, if that fails, it goes to "stage two", i.e. labor court. b. Employment services. While the government has its own central employment bureau, the labor law governs the establishment and work scope of private sector employment and recruitment office. To date there are 13 such private offices. c. Vocational Training Corporation: www.vtc.gov.jo/vtce.htm The Vocational Training Corporation is established and governed by Labor Law 11 of 1985, the Vocational Training Corporation Law and Law 27 of 1999 Occupational Work Organization Law. See reftel e for a brief overview of the VTC. d. Labor market information system There is a market information system at the Ministry of Labor; website is www.mol.gov.jo/mainpage.htm. The GOJ Department of Statistics publishes up-to-date statistics on the labor conditions in Jordan in English: www.dos.gov.jo. e. Gender specific issues Article 69 of the labor law governs work restrictions specific to women (type of work and time of day) f. Safety and health See section I(a); the Ministry has an office of Safety and Occupational Health. g. Pension and health benefits All government employees, whether civil or military service, receive a pension from the state as well as access to public health care. Establishments that are not governmental which employ 5 or more people are required by law to enroll their staff with the Social Security Corporation. There are no obligatory health service outlays for private sector employers. h. Employment of special needs population, such as the disabled The laws governing this issue mandate quota hiring of physically disabled persons but in practice are not always enforced. IV. Worker organizations A/B. Professional associations in Jordan are very politicized entities that are charged with regulating and certifying members of their respective professions (see reftel c). Labor unions do exist and are active, with the Textile union growing in size and effectiveness (reftels b/e). ¶V. Other international linkages a. The Ministry of Labor has relations with Arab and International Organizations; Jordan has been a member of the ILO since 1956. The Ministry of Labor has ratified 18 international labor agreements. Jordan was a founder of the Arab Labor Organization in 1970 and has ratified 6 of its agreements. b. Local offices of the ILO, inter alia. The ILO has program directors here for their two programs (Elimination of Child Labor and Strengthening Social Partnership between labor actors). See reftel d. The AFL-CIO reportedly is planning to establish a Solidarity Center in Jordan in the next year. VI. Employer organizations Professional Associations organize various employer organizations (See reftel c for an overview of the professional associations). BERRY