Public sector employees, retirees take on second jobs to make ends meet — report

AMMAN — Many workers in the public sector have resorted to working supplementary jobs in order to support their livelihoods, according to a report by the Jordan Labour Watch (JLW) made available to The Jordan Times.

JLW’s report, titled “Public sector employees working in other jobs”, also indicated that large numbers of retirees, whether in the retirement system or on social security, tend to work multiple jobs after retirement.

The report showed that low wages in the public sector is the main contributing factor in the decision to take on supplemental jobs, noting that public sector income is hardly sufficient to provide for the essentials, and sometimes fall short of meeting basic needs, especially for those who support their families.

According to the report, the situation is more difficult for retirees, whose pensions are less than their working salaries, as their income needs are at their highest, especially for those who support their children in universities or whose children are unemployed graduates.

Despite the commonality of taking on a side job, Paragraph (g) of Article (68) of the Civil Service System prohibits an employee from “working outside official working hours without prior permission from the Prime Minister or his authorised representative”.

The report stated that public employees with additional jobs are mostly concentrated at the Ministries of Education and Health, as well as in municipal governments. The majority of those who work a second job are heads of families. The number of male employees who work two jobs is significantly higher than that of female employees. 

Married women, who are also often responsible for taking care of children in addition to their government job, were less likely to have a secondary job, according to the report.

Director of the Phenix Centre for Economics and Informatics Studies (PCEIS) Ahmad Awad told The Jordan Times that public sector employees taking on secondary jobs has a negative effect.

“This leads to an increase in the unemployment rate, which is already high, because jobs occupied by workers in the public sector, as well as by retirees, are supposed to be for new graduates and the unemployed, not for those who are already working,” Awad noted.

Successive Jordanian governments have upheld a general policy of low wages, which does not help employees to meet basic needs. Therefore, employees resort to taking on “informal jobs” in order to earn extra income, Awad said.

“Working two jobs also affects the people themselves, as they spend all their time working, which cancels out their lives,” he added.

Awad indicated that raising wages and cash liquidity raises people’s purchasing power, which moves and develops the economy.

“Even though it is prohibited to work two jobs without an official permission, people still do it without permission, unfortunately, and this is the case for not only civilians, but also for men working in the military,” Awad added.

Economist Wajdi Makhamreh said that raising the minimum wage “is crucial” in light of high living costs and continued inflation facing the Jordanian economy, adding that the current minimum wage is “illogical and no longer appropriate”.

“There has been no increase in wages and salaries for public sector employees for a long time. Therefore, they have resorted to working two jobs,” Makhamreh told The Jordan Times.

He emphasised that “low wages of government employees lead to corruption”, noting that there is a significant decline in governmental administrative performance and the level of service provided. 

“This is a clear thing, as the citizen must pay to get services done, and there are major disruptions and it takes a really long time. This is why the government needs to do staff restructuring, as well as reconsider the minimum wage,” Makhamreh added.

The report recommended reconsidering raising wages in the public sector, linking salaries, bonuses and the cost of living allowance to inflation rates, and factoring years of experience into calculations of base salaries, annual increases and bonuses.