Cabinet modifies army personnel service law

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to a law governing the service of army personnel other than commissioned officers.

According to a statement from the Prime Ministry, the amended law aims to “keep up with the developments witnessed by the armed forces in all fields, and to regulate some job-related issues such as secondment... and to change some job titles in a way consistent with [their] practice on the ground”. 

The bill also regulates leaves related to academic study and unpaid vacations, in addition to modifying allowances paid to civilian employees in the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF). 

In 2015, the law governing officers’ service at the JAF was amended 40 years after the original law went into effect. The amendments were in response to the Royal vision on reconsidering the course of military service in line with the army’s development. 

The new law stipulated that officers be recruited under special contracts with set durations.

University graduates were also given the opportunity to enlist in the army as officers, provided they meet the requirements during a five-year assessment period.

The Cabinet, chaired by acting prime minister Walid Maani, also endorsed a by-law amending regulations related to JAF personnel’s health insurance on Wednesday. 

According to the statement, the new by-law is meant to “take health insurance service for army personnel to the highest level of quality”. JAF’s healthcare service is provided by Royal Medical Services. 

The by-law also seeks to adjust the military’s medical insurance to match peer systems in the civilian sector and improve services up to the level paid for by personnel.

The Cabinet also modified the by-law governing subscriptions to the Social Security Corporation (SSC), with the aim of simplifying procedures.

The new by-law will connect SSC offices and the Department of Personal Status and Passports through the Internet, which will allow SSC staff to verify the age of applicants through the department’s database. 

Under the new by-law, the SSC director general is also authorised to delegate some of their powers to officials, while the SSC board now has the authority to issue instructions regarding applications for people who work in jobs under the “flexible working hours system”.