Jordan Labor Watch – Dozens of retired workers from the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company once again gathered for a renewed sit-in in front of the company’s offices in Amman on Monday, to protest the company's disregard for their demands—namely, the reinstatement of health insurance coverage for its pensioners, as it was in 2000.
The protesters claimed to have been harassed by security services during their protest, preventing them from using loudspeakers, as they always have, to broadcast their message to the company’s board of directors.
Participants told Jordan Labor Watch that, last week, the company’s administration asked the protesters to present a list of ten retirees, of which three would then be selected to enter dialogue with management. To their surprise, the ten chosen representatives were asked by the company to sign a pledge to end the sit-in.
The pensioners stressed that they would not stop the sit-in so long as the company’s management remained intransigent in meeting their demands, stating that they would return on Tuesday and continue to fight for their right to health insurance.