Jordan Labor Watch – The Chairman of the Lower House Committee on Labor, Social Development and Population, MP Hussein Al-Harasis, has submitted an official report to the General Secretariat of the House of Representatives on what transpired during the Committee’s meeting with Garandel Manpower Services, after a verbal altercation broke out between members of the Committee and company representatives.
In a statement to Jordan Labor Watch, Al-Hararis said the Committee would leave it to the General Secretariat to address the verbal abuse launched by company representatives in the course of an altercation involving MP Abdelrahman Al-Awaisha.
The Chairman stressed that the Committee will work over the next two days to resolve the workers’ issues, “the main objective of the meeting,” which has yet to be concluded.
In its meeting with the company, which works with the Jordan Electricity Company, the Committee failed to reach any solutions due to the incident.
The meeting was cut short after the MP leveled accusations against the company, calling it a “failure” over its violations of the rights of employees. The company representative refused to continue, stating “if you continue with the insults, I don’t have to listen to you.”
The exchange went on for about a minute, until MP Al-Awaisha asked that the company’s representatives leave the meeting—which they did—after MPs rejected the representatives’ requests that MP Al-Awaisha conduct himself “properly” during the discussions.
The company’s representative responded to MP Al-Awaisha’s accusations, shouting “don't call the company a fraud,” before being removed from the meeting room by MPs and others present.
The meeting was called to address complaints by company workers, who claim their rights are being violated, especially in that they earn less than their peers who are employed directly by the Jordan Electricity Company.
In addition to the above, the workers have been refused membership to the General Trade Union of Workers in Electricity, denied the privileges extended to employees of the Jordan Electricity Company despite performing the same tasks, and threatened with termination—over 50 cases in less than 10 days.
Dozens of company employees have also received ultimatums over their participation in the protest organized by a workers’ committee, demanding their inclusion under the umbrella of the electricity workers’ union.