Jordan Labour Watch calls for basic needs of daily wage workers and their families

AMMAN — The Jordan Labour Watch on Wednesday issued a statement, calling for providing support to families of daily wage workers, whose jobs were suspended after the government’s preventative measures were enforced in order to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“There are tens of thousands of employees who depend on daily wages to provide for their families, called unorganised workers, and they do not receive fixed salaries like others, usually employed in the passenger transportation, construction, agriculture and various other sectors,” the statement said.

The statement added that the source of income for this segment is currently cut off, which requires protective measures to keep them and their families safe. These measures can be done through social campaigns carried out by their neighbours and through associations that work in their areas.

The Jordan Labour Watch urged the government to utilise its National Aid Fund, the Social Security Corporation, the private sector and professional associations “to shoulder their social responsibility” and provide these families with their basic needs to ensure “they continue to live in dignity in these exceptional times”.

“These exceptional conditions, which will hopefully end soon, are a call to action for all to think of reconsidering social security policies to cover all workers in Jordan regardless of their type of work,” the statement said, concluding that the number of unorganised workers need to be reduced as they comprise 48 per cent of the workforce.