Workers urge establishment of system to regulate agricultural sector

AMMAN — The Ministry of Labour is considering enacting the necessary legislation to include all workers in the agricultural field under the provisions of the law to encourage Jordanians to engage in the sector, Labour Ministry Spokesperson Haitham Khasawneh has told The Jordan Times. 

The remarks came as a response to the demands made by several workers in the field during a seminar titled “Working Conditions of Women in the Agricultural Sector” held at the Tamkeen Centre for Legal Aid and Human Rights on December 6.

During the event, participants called on the Ministry of Labour to establish a system to regulate the work in the agricultural sector and to guarantee the rights of both workers and employers, noting that the lack of such arrangement has contributed to several violations faced by both sides. 

In this regard, Khasawneh pointed out that a system of categories for the agricultural workers subject to the provisions of the Labour Law was promulgated and came into effect as of the date of its publication in the Official Gazette on December 7, 2003.

“Although seasonal workers are not included in the Labor Law, the ministry works to preserve the rights of all agricultural workers by reviewing the complaints submitted to labour inspectors, and guiding the workers through the legal methods that enable them to obtain their rights through resorting to magistrate courts,” Khasawneh continued. 

The attendees at the seminar also recommended that detailed data on the number of workers in the sector shall be provided to assist in the development of agricultural plans, programmes and policies. 

“The Department of Statistics, as the official concerned body, provides statistical information and data in general,” Khasawneh said, noting that “as for employment in the agricultural sector, they also provide surveys and censuses that are carried out during different periods of time”.

Regarding the situation of female employees in the field, the participants at the seminar concluded that women face more violations in the workplace than their male counterparts, suffering from a lower wage and a lack of health conditions and proper transportation, with many of them being engaged in the informal sector. 

In this regard, Khasawneh noted that the minimum wage of JOD220 is applied to all workers without exception.

“The ministry encourages the transfer of workers from the informal sector to the formal sector, since most workers in the agricultural sector work in an irregular manner,” he added, noting that “companies and farms under the provisions of the law are obliged to provide full social protection and appropriate working conditions.”