Jordan Times
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Municipalities support
strategy to ‘Jordanise’ factory workforce
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
AMMAN — The government is hoping to get the
country’s 100 municipalities to sign on to its strategy to replace foreign
factory workers in the industrial zones with Jordanians, a municipal affairs
ministry official said Tuesday.
Minister of Municipal Affairs Nader Thuheirat and Labour Minister Bassem Salem
met on Monday with the Kingdom’s mayors and agreed on a plan to integrate all
the municipalities in the effort, the official said.
Soon, 10-15 municipalities will start receiving job applications from citizens
from high unemployment areas such as Zarqa, Irbid, Ajloun, Jerash and Balqa.
Each municipality is expected to allocate an official to receive job
applications from their localities. These officials will be in direct contact
with the Labour Ministry to find a suitable vacancy for the concerned applicant,
the official told The Jordan Times.
“The idea is to examine applications submitted by factories to import foreign
labour to fill vacancies shunned by Jordanians. The government will then provide
the factory with a local alternative,” he said.
According to the Labour Law, employers are not permitted to recruit foreigners
if the required skills are available in the local workforce.
Amman, however, is excluded from the plan as it does not fall under the
authority of the Municipal Affairs Ministry.
Greater Amman Municipality officials were not available to comment on their
role, if any, in the plan.
If the project reaches its objectives, it would be expanded throughout the
Kingdom’s 100 municipalities.
The official said no specific target was set to determine if the plan is a
success, but he indicated that recruiting any number of citizens would be
considered an accomplishment.
“Municipality employees are in direct contact with local communities. They know
what they need. They know their concerns and worries,” the official added.
“The involvement of municipalities in recruitment is designed to assure workers
and their families that their rights will be guaranteed,” the official told The
Jordan Times.
The official added that unskilled labourers will receive financial compensation
from the Labour Ministry during their training period, and transportation would
be provided from the municipality to the factory.
Only citizens aged between 20-35 are allowed to apply.
Factories in industrial zones across the country currently employ some 40,000
guest workers, whose jobs would ultimately go to Jordanians, if the plan works,
he said.
The foreign workers, who mainly work in the textile industry, include
Bangladeshis, Indians, Sri Lankans and Chinese.
“If citizens accept the salary and benefits offered, they will be guaranteed
jobs,” the official said.
The government recently increased the minimum wage to JD110 from JD85 to offset
an increase in the cost of living.
Official statistics put unemployment in the country at 14.5 per cent, but
independent estimates suggest the rate could be much higher.