Jordan Times
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Inspection targets
recruitment agencies
By Hana Namroqa
AMMAN — The Ministry of Labour started an
inspection campaign this week of guest worker recruitment agencies to ensure
their adherence to the country’s labour regulations, a ministry official said.
“The campaign is part of the ministry’s continuous monitoring of the country’s
100 guest worker offices to organise the recruitment of domestic workers,” the
official told The Jordan Times.
The ministry works in cooperation with the Domestic Helpers Recruitment Agencies
Association to organise this sector and address any reported violations or
complaints.
The ministry department concerned with the employment of domestic workers is in
charge of issuing work permits, while the department of inspection and the
department of health and vocational safety are responsible for ensuring
recruitment offices conform to labour regulations.
The inspection department is not responsible for checking on the conditions of
foreign workers at their places of work since they are not included in all of
the country’s Labour Law provisions, such as those governing working hours and
holidays, said Raja Talab, a media consultant at the ministry.
“If domestic helpers report abuse by their employers, security departments are
in charge of addressing the complaints,” the ministry official said, noting that
employers found to be hiring foreign workers in vocations other than those
listed in their contracts are subject to a fine.
According to a new report by the ministry’s information and studies department,
the number of legal domestic helpers in the country is 38,328, of which 18,458
are Indonesians, 11,155 Filipinos, 8,012 Sri Lankans, 348 Egyptians and 355 from
other nationalities.
The official estimated that there are currently up to 60,000 foreign workers
illegally employed in Jordan.