‘Over 700,000 guest workers unregistered’

AMMAN — Although the Kingdom is not a signatory to the International Convention on Migrant Workers, it has several laws that regulate migration and rights of migrant workers, according to the Phenix Centre for Economic and Informatics Studies.

But Phenix Centre Director Ahmad Awad on Wednesday said the migrant worker market requires more regulation as there are thousands of illegal workers.

According to figures he cited, there are 1 million guest workers in Jordan and only 275,000 of them are registered at the Ministry of Labour. The rest — more than 700,000 — are not registered.

Awad noted that national laws should be amended or developed to ensure that both migrant workers in the country and Jordanian expatriates enjoy better rights.

He noted that domestic workers, for example, are not covered by the Social Security Law, while some workers work for less than the minimum wage.

As for Jordanians working abroad, Awad explained that the same applies to them as they receive lower salaries than nationals who work in the same job in the destination country, and in some countries they need sponsors. 

Awad's statement to The Jordan Times marked International Migrants Day, annually observed on December 18.

According to the Global Slavery Index 2014, around 31,000 people are living in "modern slavery" in Jordan. The Kingdom was ranked 57 out of 167 countries surveyed in that index.

The Walk Free Foundation, which conducted the study, defines modern slavery as any activity that takes the form of slavery, forced labour, early marriage or human trafficking. 

Also marking the occasion, Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights issued a statement calling for activating and amending some of the laws dealing with guest workers to protect their rights.

The law on human trafficking "should be amended" to include "a better and clearer concept of human trafficking" in line with UN protocols, while the Labour Law should include explicit text to punish employers who confiscate the passports and documents of their workers, the statement said.

Meanwhile William Lacy Swing, International Organisation for Migration director general, called for urgent action to save the lives of migrants and stop smugglers from exploiting their desperation to extort huge sums of money.

According to IOM data, the number of migrants dying on dangerous journeys in the hope of finding better lives for themselves and their families, is rising, with 4,868 migrants losing their lives this year at sea or in remote deserts or mountains.

"We must address the drivers of desperation migration and act in concerted and coherent partnership… This is a battle we must fight together," Swing said in a message released on the occasion.