Private schools accused of denying teachers social security coverage

AMMAN –– The Social Security Corporation (SSC) has accused private schools of denying some of their teachers the right to be covered by social security insurance, a charge acknowledged by the syndicate representing private schools. 

At a brainstorming session with stakeholders on Wednesday to discuss the issue of private schools’ failure to include their teachers under the social security umbrella, SSC Director General Nadia Rawabdeh said the corporation receives a “large” number of complaints related to subscription denial. 

Rawabdeh said that some schools tend to register teachers on the official minimum wage, which is JD190 per month, while others deduct subscription fees from the educators’ salaries without sending the contributions to the SSC. 

Other schools oblige teachers to pay the entire social security subscription, she added, pointing out that some private schools hire teachers informally rather than as part of the official payroll.

Munther Surani, president of the Association of Owners of Private Schools, confirmed what Rawabdeh said. 

Surani told The Jordan Times over the phone Thursday that there are some private schools that violate their employees’ rights by not subscribing them to social security services and by offering salaries less than the minimum wage. 

He said most violations are related to female teachers, who he blamed for accepting low wages. 

However, the main reason why teachers at private schools accept low wages and are not SSC subscribers is because “manpower supply is much higher than demand”,  according to Surani, who noted that there are around 2,600 private schools and kindergartens in the country employing over 56,000 teachers. 

He said the association is against any violations of the Labour Law, blaming teachers for not complaining to the syndicate. 

The SSC will soon launch a media campaign targeting sectors that evade registering their employees with the corporation, an SSC statement said. 

Another problem in private schools also discussed at the brainstorming session was related to pay inequity between male and female teachers. 

Labour Ministry Secretary General Hamada Abu Nijmeh said a recent study conducted by the ministry found that the gender-based wage gap in private schools is about 42 per cent in favour of male teachers.

He added that labour violations related to low wages and non-payment of social security subscriptions by private schools in some parts of Amman stand at around 300 a month.