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AMMAN — The Jordan Labour Watch at the Phenix Centre for Economics and Information Studies on Saturday issued a statement on the employment of persons with disabilities, calling for the facilitation of their participation in the labour market.

The position paper, released in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Amman, commemorates the UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which is celebrated every year on December 3, aiming to promote the rights and well-being of people with disabilities, and to increase awareness of their situation in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

Ahmad Awad, director of the Phenix Centre, told The Jordan Times that “what Phenix is advocating for is an increase in the efforts of governmental offices and institutions to provide facilitations and tools for people with disabilities to access the labour market”, stressing that “there are policies in place, but they are not being implemented”.

In this regard, the statement called for the activation of Article 13 of the Labour Law, which dictates that the workforce of companies with 50 employees or more should include at least 2 per cent of employees with disabilities, as long as the nature of the job allows it.

Furthermore, the paper called for the amendment of Article 4 of the Law for the Welfare of Disabled Persons in order to ensure its effective application, guaranteeing the provision of a facilitating working environment for employees with disabilities.

“Despite the provisions of the Labour Law and the Law for the Welfare of Disabled Persons, the low employment rates among people with disabilities whether in the public or the private sector shows us that they are not being implemented,” said Awad, pointing out that “there are gaps in the legal texts and regulations that allow both public and private organisations to avoid the employment of people with disabilities”.

The paper also noted the “poor” working conditions to which employees with disabilities are subjected, pointing out “the low quality of the jobs offered, the low wages, the general insecurity and the low confidence showed by their employers regardless of their productivity being the same as that of their non-disabled peers”.

“The lack of an adequate infrastructure at work has also weakened the employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and many of them suffer from the lack of social security and health insurance, since they are usually employed in the informal economic sectors,” the statement said.

Muhannad Azzeh, secretary general of the Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities (HCD), told The Jordan Times that “the employers are preventing the applicants suffering from disabilities from enjoying their right to work because there is this stereotyped imaged about them not being able to do their job”, stressing that “if an employee with disability cannot perform at the same level as his or her peers, that is because the working environment is not accessible”.

“The law No. 20 of 2017 on the rights of people with disability includes progressive provisions in this matter,” Azzeh continued, noting that a new Equal Opportunity Committee was created under the new law to mediate between employers and employees with disabilities. 

“But, in order to overcome this problem, we shall address businessman and employers in their own language, raising awareness on the many benefits of hiring people with disabilities both at the company and the country levels,” the official added. 

Regarding the costs of making the work spaces accessible for people with disabilities, Azzeh stated that “most companies believe that accommodating the workplace for their disabled employees comes at a high cost, but this is not the reality”.

“However, it is equally important to educate the employees about their rights, and let them know the ways in which they can demand accessibility in the workplace in accordance with the law and their freedom of choice,” Azzeh concluded.

AMMAN — Water Minister Hazem El Naser on Saturday laid the cornerstone for Naur and Wadi Al Seer water purification station and the sewage networks projects. 

The two schemes were co-funded by the Export-Import Bank of Korea and a grant from the US government, at a total cost of $76 million, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the ceremony, El Naser listened to a briefing about the Iraq Al Amir’s tourist project, presented by Mohammad Abbadi, director of the project and Planning Unit at the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM). 

Abbadi stressed the importance of cooperation between the ministry and the GAM.

El Naser noted that the ministry is planning to float a tender in the near future to move these channels and reconnect them in a way that does not affect water conveyance to farmers. 

He called on stakeholders at the ministry to work on cleaning the springs in Iraq Al Amir, and establishing new water channels in the area, in light of the location’s status as a major tourist attraction in the Kingdom.

The minister praised the municipality’s efforts in developing the infrastructure of Iraq Al Amir.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism is implementing rehabilitation and cleaning works at various areas in Iraq Al Amir, in addition to floating a tender to rehabilitate Qasr Al Abd and establish walking areas and parks within the facility.      

AMMAN — A group of 22 volunteers took it upon themselves to clean up one of Jordan’s most iconic locations: the Wadi Rum desert.

Motivated by his love of environment and the Kingdom’s natural gems, Ahmed Sabah Saideen, a camp owner, looked for ways to raise awareness on the importance of preserving the desert’s environment.

“My friend and I run a camp in Wadi Rum and we had been talking about the idea of cleaning up the area, but we didn’t know how to spread the word and reach out to people from other cities like Amman,” he told The Jordan Times.

Helped by his German friend Lena Pschiuk, he managed to gather a group of volunteers to participate in a “cleaning weekend” initiative.

“Even though there is less rubbish here than in the big cities, it is shameful to see our beautiful desert dirtied by garbage,” Saideen said, noting that trash comes both from careless tourists’ and sandstorms bringing in rubbish from the surrounding villages.

“Some people come to the desert by themselves and camp without abiding by the rules applied in the protected area. They come once, throw their trash and don’t care about the area or our land,” the young man claimed, noting that the trash laying around the desert has been harming the animals, the environment and humans in general.

Starting off on Friday morning, the volunteers spread across three different locations in Wadi Rum, where they spent the day collecting rubbish.

“We decided to organise it throughout the weekend, so that the participants can fully enjoy the beauty of this magical desert at night, gazing at the star. That makes them even better understand the need to preserve this location and ensure it remains plastic free,” Pschiuk said.

Volunteers from all walks of life participated in the event. Hernando Aguilar, a Colombian living in Amman said: “I have visited Wadi Rum four times since I arrived in April and it is really a pity to see the amount of garbage in that beautiful place.”

“With this activity, I realised how fragile the natural environment is and how much damage we can make with our actions,” he told The Jordan Times, noting that “there is a lack of understanding of the visitors on how to handle their garbage. I wonder where they think the cans and diapers they throw away disappear off to!” 

Once collected, the trash was distributed to the people in charge of the protected area, who disposed of the waste in an environmentally friendly way.

“We partnered with the people at the visitors’ centre, who have been really helpful. They have provided us with cars for the different groups participating in the initiative, and will be disposing of all the trash we collected,” Saideen said, voicing his appreciation to the governmentally run institution.

“Today, we are only doing this small initiative with 22 people, but tomorrow, we hope to create a spillover effect. First of all, it is a message to all Jordanians, but also one to our colleagues running other camps and to the government running the protected area… we want to show them that we are taking the matter into our own hands,” he noted.

With over 150 people voicing their interest in the initiative, Saideen said he hopes to launch other projects, including bringing school children from the surrounding areas to help them realise the impact of their littering on the desert.

“This initiative is a very important step in the right direction and it should definitely happen on a regular basis,” said Jessica Rex, a German-American.

“We just started this idea as an experiment but we are planning to make it a yearly event, on the same day. I am hoping to make it an annual touristic event at the beginning of December to raise awareness in a symbolic way,” Saideen concluded, noting that he also plans to schedule more cleaning initiatives in the near future.

AMMAN — “Every start is hard, the first day I woke up here I thought to myself: What am I doing here?” said Ahmed Taha, a 24-year-old Syrian who is now living in Jordan and is the first to study business in Mexico under a humanitarian project.

Taha was born in Damascus and he was at high school when the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011. He left the country in 2013 when he was a freshman at the First Commercial Banking Institute, Taha told to The Jordan Times during an interview on Friday. 

He arrived in Jordan later in the year from Beirut, fleeing violence where “we were supposed to join the pro-government militia — those are the rules in Syria — I can not go back there now,” he said.

Talking with a friend from Damascus who fled to Iraq and is now in Mexico, Taha knew all about a Mexican initiative that makes it possible for Syrian students to travel Mexico for study. Named Habesha Project, the initiative is a “humanitarian, non-political, not-for-profit, neutral and secular initiative”, according to its founder, Adrian Melendez.

Through the programme, “we try to show solidarity with the Syrian community through receiving in Mexico youth whose studies were interrupted due to the situation in their country,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone from Mexico on Thursday.

The idea resonated well with Taha, who, he said, was eager to have a new experience where he interacts with a new culture and build a future in a completely new setting.

Taha will join the university early next year, alongside 12 of his peers who are already enrolled in higher education institutes in the North American country. 

The total number targeted by the initiative amounts to 30, who were, or currently are, in Syria, Iraq, Turkey or Lebanon. Taha is the only one currently living in Jordan, according to Melendez. 

An experienced relief worker who has served in different places worldwide, especially with Syrian refugees in Kurdistan and Iraq, Melendez explained that the project is looking for beneficiaries who display “an important emphasis on studying; they should be active members in their community and supporting others”, Melendez commented. 

In Jordan, with the recent opening of the Mexican embassy and the support of the department of foreign relations of Mexico, it has become easier to issue a visa for people like Taha, he said. 

“We believe that the Syrian people want to be independent and autonomous and have hope for their future. We saw that this is the best thing we could do for their education, which is the best way to support them,” Melendez added. 

Taha is expected to go to Mexico at the beginning of the next year where he will study business. “I want to build something and make a difference for my country, because of the war we need to know how to make a difference,” he said. 

Taha says he hopes to use the skills and knowledge he will acquire in Mexico to help his country as the reconstruction process starts when the dust settles. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah and UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday held talks at Al Husseiniya Palace, which focused on "historical" relations between Jordan and the UK, as well as the latest regional and international developments.

In press remarks, preceding one-on-one talks that were followed by expanded discussions, His Majesty welcomed the premier's second visit to the Kingdom this year and expressed appreciation for May and the UK institutions for the high level of coordination with Amman, according to a Royal Court statement.

King Abdullah underlined May's discussions with Prime Minister Hani Mulki, earlier in the day, on means of enhancing the resilience of the Jordanian economy and helping the Kingdom in dealing with regional challenges.

Politically, the King said that Jordan and the UK have always worked in harmony, describing such cooperation as very good.

For her part, May expressed her gratitude for the King's warm welcome and happiness for visiting Jordan for the second time this year.

She expressed happiness for having the chance to discuss with the King ways of moving bilateral ties to higher levels, as well as continuing efforts to solidify economic and development cooperation, voicing support for Jordan 2025 Vision.

The premier acknowledged there are a lot of real challenges, agreeing with His Majesty that enhancing the resilience of the economy is a vital issue as it is associated with the country’s ability to generate more jobs and focus on education, which she described as a very important factor in such endeavours. 

The expanded talks, which continued over a lunch banquet, covered mechanisms to strengthen Jordanian-British relations, with both sides expressing keenness on enhancing relations at the economic, investment and military levels, among others. 

Discussions also focused on the need to continue coordination and consultation over issues of mutual concern and urgent developments in the regional and international arenas, in a way that contributes to achieving peace and stability worldwide. 

The two sides also addressed the increasing repercussions of regional crises borne by the Kingdom. His Majesty highlighted the importance of fully implementing the outcomes of 2016 London conference to support refugee hosting countries, calling on donor countries to honour their pledges made at the gathering, mainly Jordan, to help it sustain humanitarian and relief services to refugees.

King Abdullah expressed his gratitude for the British support to the Kingdom in this regard.

On the latest developments in the region, they stressed the importance of reaching political solutions to crises in a way that brings back peace and security for its peoples.

They also went over efforts to push forward the Middle East peace process. The King stressed the importance of intensifying efforts aimed at launching serious and effective negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis based on the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative, leading to the establishment of the independent Palestinian state within the June 4, 1967 lines and with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In this regard, His Majesty warned that failure to reach a just and sustainable solution to the Palestinian issue would keep the region subject to more tensions and instigate more extremism and violence.

His Majesty and May also discussed ongoing efforts in the war against terrorism within a holistic approach, and highlighted the significance of intensifying cooperation and coordination among regional and international stakeholders to face this threat, which, he said, jeopardises world peace and security.

On Syria, they highlighted the importance of building up on Astana talks to reach a political solution in the country within the lines of Geneva understandings and in a way that guarantees Syria’s unity and the safety of its people.

King Abdullah and the UK premier also addressed the latest development in Iraq and praised the Iraqi government’s efforts in the war against terrorism, hailing the victories achieved by the Iraqi army against Daesh.

For her part, May expressed her country’s appreciation for Jordan’s efforts in dealing with various crises in the Middle East, and UK’s willingness to support endeavours seeking the restoration of security and stability in the region.

AMMAN — "Jordan's prosperity is a major pillar of the UK's stability," British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday. 

Underlying the historic Jordanian-British relations, May said, "There is no country which the UK sees closer as Jordan in the region," pledging constant support to the Kingdom.

Expressing appreciation for Jordan's hospitality and compassion towards the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, May, during a press conference Thursday, stressed that Britain would continue its economic assistance to refugee-burdened Jordan.

May also said that the UK is making a new partnership with Jordan aiming at enhancing the latter's stability, security, resilience, development, job creation and reforms.

“I am here to offer a new, long-term partnership with Jordan … Britain will be a partner you can depend on, “May” added.

May pledged relentless support to Jordan’s reform programmes which, she described, as “made in Jordan, by Jordan and for Jordan”. “We want them [reforms] to succeed.”

Underlying Jordan’s avant-garde position in the anti-terror coalition and citing the security challenges Jordan is facing, May voiced her country’s support for the Jordanian army and other security bodies.  

The British PM also expressed her admiration of Jordan’s anti-terrorism and counter-radicalism approach.

Syria

May said only a political solution to Syria’s seven-year war can put an end the large-scale suffering of the Syrian people and can neutralise the terrorist groups fighting there, including primarily the Daesh terror group.

The premier expressed hopes that the ongoing Geneva conference on Syria would result in positive outcomes towards ending the Syrian conflict.

May also said that the Syrian Assad regime, Daesh and Iran are the major threats to Syria’s stability.

On the Mideast conflict, May stressed the importance of putting the Middle East peace process back on track, voicing commitment to doing “whatever it takes” to help the Palestinians and Israelis reach a settlement of the long-running conflict on the basis of the two-state solution.

“All Israeli unilateral measures, including the illegal settlement expansion, must stop.”

Regarding Iran, May said that the UK will stand firm on its support of the nuclear deal with Iran, which the US President Donald Trump has disavowed but not scraped yet.

Trump has called the Iran deal the worst of its kind ever struck by a US administration

The British PM stressed the need for more strengthened response to Iran’s missile threats facing the Arab Gulf states. 

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of being responsible for a ballistic missile launched from Yemen that targeted Riyadh airport earlier this month, warning that it could be “considered an act of war”.

Meanwhile, May renewed her condemnation of Trump’s retweets of anti-Muslim videos posted by a British far-right organisation Britain First on Wednesday.

“I am very clear that retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do,” May told the press conference.  

“We’re not afraid to say where we think the US got it wrong,” she said, when asked about Trump’s reaction to her condemnation, yet, adding that a state visit by Trump to Britain would proceed.

“An invitation has been extended and has been accepted. We are yet to set a date,” she said.

AMMAN — The Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) on Thursday announced that the average price of a crude oil barrel in September, October and November marked an increase to $58.67 per barrel, exceeding the $55 cap set to keep electricity tariffs unchanged.

The increase in oil prices to rates over $55 per barrel requires adjustments to electricity tariffs (monthly power invoices) for December, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported, citing an EMRC statement.

In December 2016, EMRC announced adopting a scenario for electricity tariffs that will see lower rates for major consumers, while it will increase the tariffs “for all sectors” in case the price of a crude oil barrel exceeding the set limit.

EMRC said that its board of commissioner convened on Thursday and reviewed the price difference, before deciding to increase tariffs by JD0.004 for each kilowatt per hour (kph) for all categories of subscribers.

For example, households whose monthly electricity consumption does not exceed 160kph will see a JD0.64 rise on their power bills, compared with a JD1.2 increase for household consumers whose monthly consumption ranges between 161 to 300kph. 

Families that consume 301 to 500kph of electricity in a month will witness a hike of JD2, while those with consumption ranging between 501 and 600kph will pay extra JD2.4. 

A monthly consumption of 601 to 750kph at households will entail a JD3 increase on electricity bills, while those with consumption that exceeds 750kph and is less than 1,000kph will have to pay additional JD4 for their power bills.

The rise was coupled with another involving the main fuels, and a government’s plan to remove bread and other subsidies in return for cash support “for those deserving”.

AMMAN — Jordan has ranked 7th in the Arab region and 92nd worldwide in the 2017 Global Prosperity Index recently issued by the British Legatum Institute, which measures the prosperity of countries in terms of material wealth, personal and social well-being. 

However, the Kingdom’s overall prosperity has declined compared to previous editions of the ranking, having moved 17 positions down since the index’ first issue in 2006 and three since last year. 

Economist Wajdi Makhamreh told The Jordan Times that “the economic situation and the regional turmoil have adversely affected the situation for Jordan over the past years”, stating that “nothing is being done to increase the living standards of Jordanian citizens, who are dealing with increasing prices and taxes”.

“Jordan used to be so much better but, now, all indicators are decreasing, and we should not forget the impact of the Syrian crisis and the current political situation,” the economist said. 

Economist Isam Qadamani attributed the prosperity decrease to “the decline in economic growth, coinciding with the large increase in the population due to hosting refugees beyond the endurance of Jordan”, adding that “the refugee crisis has placed economic and social pressures on resources, and strained the labour market as a result of the increase in population”.

“The average per capita income reflects the economic well-being of any country, and what the decline in the classification of Jordan means is the decrease in the standard of living of citizens and the poor distribution of income,” Qadamani continued.

“The decline in economic growth means that Jordan is no longer attractive to investment, especially as it reflects a deteriorating purchasing power, and it places difficulties in terms of access to loans from international institutions,” the economist added. 

The ranking described the conditions required for prosperity as the combination of nine pillars, namely: economic quality, business environment, governance, personal freedom, social capital, safety and security, education, health and the natural environment.

The biggest positive change for Jordan was registered in the education pillar, where the Kingdom ranked 82nd worldwide, gaining four places compared to last year.

In this regard, Makhamreh pointed out that “Jordan is one of the most successful countries in the Middle East in terms of education,” highlighting that “both schools and universities are widespread with the number of graduates increasing every year”.

However, Jordan saw its safety and security ranking drop by 11 places when compared to last year, which the index report attributed to “increases in battlefield deaths and terrorism” and “the conflict in Syria spilling over national borders”.

The lowest scores were registered in the personal freedom pillar, where the Kingdom ranked 126th despite “signs of increasing liberalisation, as more and more people feel able to engage politically through voicing their opinion”, according to the index report. 

At a regional level, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region ranked 6th in world prosperity, witnessing a decline in overall prosperity for two consecutive years. 

As per the region, the United Arab Emirates ranked 39th globally, followed by Qatar (47th), Bahrain (62th), Oman (73th), Saudi Arabia (78th) and Kuwait (80th). 

The majority of MENA’s decreased prosperity in 2017 was registered in safety and security with Egypt, Turkey and Libya being the worst performers, while data from several indicators reflected that women are far less engaged in society in MENA than in the rest of the world. 

“While there is growth in the representation of women in parliament, they are hugely under-represented in the labour force — in 2016 just 24 per cent of female adults in MENA participated in the labour force, compared to 51 per cent in the world as a whole,” said the index report, noting that “glimmers of change are perhaps on the horizon — for example, a recent landmark ruling in Saudi Arabia has granted women access to driving licences — but there remains a long way to go for women to be fully integrated into the economy”.

AMMAN — UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday met with several women from the Jerash business community, who implemented home based production projects in the northern Jordanian city.

A British embassy spokesperson said that the meeting, which took place at the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature’s Wild Jordan Centre in Amman, focused on projects that seeks to empower women and support their abilities to cope with family burdens, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The spokesperson added that May expressed her country’s keenness to continue supporting efforts aimed at empowering women and guaranteeing their pivotal role in society, noting that the UK has offered £2.5 million to the women empowerment programme in Jordan.

Jerash Mayor Ali Gogazeh voiced his appreciation of the British government that cooperated with the Arab women project fund in implementing several projects and presenting financial and in-kind assistance, benefiting a total of 80 women.

The Arab women project fund, which was launched in 2015, aims at empowering 150,000 Arab women in Jordan, Egypt and Palestine through providing them with economic opportunities to increase their contributions to the economy and the labour market. 

The fund, which will continue receiving financing of some £10 million from the UK ministry of international development, targets women entrepreneurs and focuses on enabling them to come up with new services and products. 

AMMAN — A new version of the Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities (MEGA) Jordan is under development to serve as a user-friendly web-based geospatial information system on the country’s archaeological and heritage sites, according to a senior government official.

The new version, called “Arches Jordan”, will provide researchers and the public with coordinates and data on all of Jordan’s registered archaeological sites, buildings, structures, landscapes and heritage ensembles or districts, the official said.

“The Department of Antiquities [DoA] and Getty Conservation Institute [GCI] are now in the process of developing Arches Jordan which will be available as a bilingual system,” DoA Director General Monther Jamhawi said.

Jamhawi underlined that the new system will share with the public the history of the country’s registered archaeological and heritage sites in terms of dates of discovery, research and excavations on the site, among other data. 

Arches Jordan will be the third phase of MEGA Jordan, according to Jamhawi.

Launched in 2011, MEGA Jordan is a web-based Geographic Information System that documents and protects the Kingdom’s archaeological sites by enabling decision makers at the municipal, governorate and national levels to coordinate and reduce the potential impact of modern developments on the remnants of the Kingdom.

MEGA Jordan is a joint initiative by the GCI, the DoA and the World Monuments Fund (WMF).

Arches Jordan project’s website indicated that, during the development of the MEGA system, the GCI and WMF received many inquiries from heritage organisations around the world interested in using MEGA.

“This interest led the GCI and WMF to develop a user-fr Jerash Mayor Ali Gogazeh voiced his appreciation of the British government iendly, low-cost, web-based geospatial information system for the international heritage field, designed to help the inventory and management of all types of immovable heritage, including archaeological sites, buildings, structures, landscapes, and heritage ensembles or districts,” according to Arches Jordan project’s website. 

Jamhawi said that the system provides data on Jordan’s 27,000-28,000 registered archaeological sites, noting that there are some 100,000 documented archaeological sites across the country.