‘Five journalists rehired at Ad-Dustour, work under way to reappoint others’

AMMAN — Five Ad-Dustour journalists who were laid off recently have been rehired after efforts by the Jordan Press Association (JPA), the syndicate said on Saturday.

In an emergency meeting held Saturday, JPA President Tareq Momani issued a statement saying JPA will work on reinstating the rest of the laid-off employees.

Awni Daoud, managing editor of Ad-Dustour’s economic section and deputy president of JPA, noted that intensive contacts were made to ensure that the employees in question were reinstated. 

“So far, five of the journalists who were laid off went back to work and another three will follow them in two days,” he told The Jordan Times, adding that the syndicate will work to have them rehired by the paper. 

“We focused on those who have no other source of income,” Daoud said, reiterating that the JPA received confirmation that no measures will be taken to terminate their services. 

“There is a genuine will from Ad-Dustour’s board to find sound solutions to the paper’s problems,” he added. 

Earlier this month, Ad-Dustour daily’s administration laid off around 46 staff members and the JPA reiterated its absolute rejection of the move as part of a restructuring plan.

In a statement issued on the day the layoffs were announced, Ad-Dustour employees said they had not received salaries for the past six months, noting that the drop in the number of employees — from 580 two years ago to 320 now — has not had any effect on the economic conditions of the Kingdom’s oldest newspaper.

The state-owned Social Security Investment Fund owns nearly 30 per cent of the Jordan Press and Publishing 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.