Trade unions threaten large-scale strike if demands unmet

AMMAN - The General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions (GFJTU) on Monday threatened that thousands of its members would stage an open-ended work stoppage unless the government responds positively to its demands within the next two weeks.

GFJTU President Mazen Maaytah told The Jordan Times yesterday that negotiations with the government reached a dead end regarding their demands, which are mainly focused on enhancing the living conditions of private sector workers.

"We urge the government to take us seriously before it is too late. There are more than 600,000 workers in the private sector, of whom 100,000 are members of the GFJTU's 17 trade unions and we expect large-scale participation in the work stoppage," he said, adding that should this happen, it would severely damage the economy.

The GFJTU's other demands include revisiting the 2010 temporary Social Security Law, amending articles 28 and 31 of the Labour Law, raising the JD150 minimum wage and exempting workers' saving funds and end of service compensation from income tax, according to Maaytah.

"The tripartite committee, which was formed upon a Cabinet decision earlier this year to look into the minimum wage, has failed to reach consensus on a final response to our demand," he said, noting that the business sector offered JD180, but the GFJTU insists on JD300.

Meanwhile, Khaled Ziud, head of the General Trade Union of Petroleum and Chemical Workers, told The Jordan Times that the previous government endorsed the temporary Social Security Law in the absence of the Lower House, stressing that the legislation did not take workers' rights into account; rather it gave more assurances to employers.

"Any legislation should take the interests of all concerned parties into account and not give incentives and protection to one side at the expense of the other. The previous law stipulated that employers should create saving and end-of-service compensation funds for their employees, but this provision is absent in the new law," he noted.

Moreover, Ziud said articles 28 and 31 of the amended Labour Law gives employers the right to downsize their staff under a restructuring plan in case of financial problems.

"This is a serious threat to job security. Workers need to feel secure and immune against attempts to lay them off. They cannot just be thrown out of service just like that. They have families to take care of and social responsibilities and the authorities should have taken this into account before approving the law," he said.

"We are against any attempt to undermine workers' acquired rights and if we do not get a positive response we will have no other option but to implement our legislative right to implement a large-scale work stoppage despite the negative effect it may have on the economy," Ziud concluded.

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications and Government Spokesperson Rakan Majali could not be reached for a comment, despite several attempts by The Jordan Times.