Ad Dustour employees say job security threatened

AMMAN — Journalists and employees of Ad Dustour newspaper are worried they may lose their jobs as Jordan’s first Arabic daily struggles with debts and a financial shortfall. 

Dozens of employees held a demonstration outside the newspaper premises on Sunday to demand that the management pay their salaries, which they have not received for nearly four months. 

Members of the Jordan Press Association (JPA) council and journalists from other dailies were present at the sit-in as a gesture of solidarity.  

Several employees who took part in a one-hour work stoppage told The Jordan Times that they are aware that the newspaper is cash-strapped and owes hundreds of thousands of dinars.  

Omar Qudah, a journalist in the economic department, said he has not received his salary since November and is worried about losing his job.

Asked if he is indebted to a bank, Qudah said he applied for a mortgage loan two years ago and borrows the monthly instalment of JD350 from family members or friends. 

His colleague Anas Khasawneh has the same concerns. 

“We don’t know what is going to happen next month. Most colleagues are worried that they may lose their jobs any day,” he said. 

“The situation here is very difficult because employees know it won’t be easy for the paper to secure cash inflows,” said Islam Omari, also a journalist. 

Established in 1967, the newspaper has around 400 employees, according to JPA council member Ali Freihat. 

Last year, the Social Security Investment Fund (SSIF) bought the premises of the daily for around JD5.5 million in an attempt to salvage it, Freihat said, calling on the government to financially support print media outlets as many democratic countries across the world do. 

JPA President Tareq Momani said Ad Dustour management told him that it is working to secure the funds needed to pay the employees’ salaries, noting that the board of directors is trying to find a solution for the financial woes facing the newspaper. 

The state-owned SSIF owns nearly 30 per cent of the company, which publishes Ad Dustour, while the Jordan Engineers Association owns 18 per cent and the newspaper’s employee fund owns 5 per cent. Other shares are owned by private shareholders.

Ad Dustour employees have been facing salary delays over the past two years and demonstrated for the same cause in December 2013.

Qudah said the financial difficulties facing the newspaper this time are “worse than any time before”.