New labour regulation measures in coordination with interior ministry, police

AMMAN — Interior Minister Salameh Hammad and Labour Minister Nidal Bataineh on Thursday met over regulating the labour market to ensure increasing the local workforce’s job opportunities.

The top officials, during the meeting held in the Interior Ministry, stressed that guest workers and business owners are not allowed to breach the law.

Both sides must commit to the regulations to safeguard the local workers’ rights to find jobs in the sectors restricted to foreign labourers, they underlined.

More so, the ministers stressed that abiding by the law helps protect guest workers’ right too, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Hammad said that the meeting aimed at finding solutions to reduce unemployment rate and handling labour violation issues, including those pertaining to non-Jordanian domestic workers.

In order to succeed with the task at hand, work must be based on complete coordination and organisation between the two ministries, he added.

To that effect, Bataineh said that the number of violating guest workers is twice the number of workers who have valid work permits.

He reaffirmed on the vitality of upholding the Labour Law and called on workers and businesses to rectify their status.

Otherwise, “immediate deportation” for “illegal” and fines would be in order, the labour minister warned.

The government is serious about regulating the labour market and controlling the foreign labour segments to limit their effects on the local workforce, Bataineh said.

Talks also covered intensifying labour inspection campaigns according to new labour regulation strategies in cooperation with the Interior Ministry and the Public Security Department, Petra reported.

As of August 1, non-Jordanian domestic workers are also required to provide a clearance certificate from the labour ministry before leaving the country, Bataineh underlined.

Accordingly, domestic workers of any nationality who do not have work permits and wish to leave the Kingdom will have to pay fines for the period they spent in Jordan illegally.