69,000 work permits issued for illegal guest workers — Katamine

AMMAN — The Ministry of Labour has issued 69,000 work permits over the past month, and 65 per cent of them were for Egyptian guest workers, Labour Minister Nidal Katamine said on Monday.

The permits were issued during an ongoing grace period for illegal guest workers to rectify their situation and renew their documents, according to the ministry, which said that the grace period started on March 16 and ends on May 14.

The ministry collected JD17 million in fees for the work permits, Katamine added in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

“A total of 50,000 guest workers have benefited from the first phase of the non-retrospective grace period, during which the ministry collected JD12 million. Meanwhile, a total of 16,000 guest workers have so far benefitted from the second phase of the grace period, during which the ministry collected JD5 million,” Katamine said.

He noted that the ministry is planning to adopt a new system for work permits, under which issuance fees will increase at varying rates for certain sectors.

In addition, Katamine announced that the ministry will launch a nationwide crackdown on illegal guest workers in cooperation with security forces on May 18.

“Inspection teams will be increased to 50... they will start work at 8am and finish at 10pm,” he said.

The minister called on employers and workers to benefit from the ongoing grace period to avoid measures that will be taken against violators.

Illegal guest workers who fail to rectify their status during the grace period are sent back to their countries in cooperation with their embassies, according to the ministry.