Jordanian Labor Watch -
Workers at an electricity generating company in the Ghabawi area of Al-Zarqa Governorate carried out a protest in front of the company's building this morning, Wednesday, to express their objection to being forced to work overtime on official holidays.
The protesters, numbering around 50 workers, stated that the company's management issued a decision obligating employees to work overtime on official holidays, despite it being optional. They were also informed that any worker who refuses the decision will be let go.
According to the Jordanian Labor Watch, the protesters revealed that the company dismissed five experienced employees from their positions yesterday, due to their refusal to work on official holidays. Additionally, others have been threatened with non-renewal of their employment contracts.
Abdullah Abu Al-Ghanam, a dismissed worker, stated that many of the company employees were forced to work on recent official holidays, such as Independence Day and the Crown Prince's wedding day, out of fear of being fired.
Abu Al-Ghanam, spoke to Labor Watch mentioning that they carried out a protest last week against these actions, which led the company to start conducting investigations and threatening them with termination.
He further stated that he and four of his colleagues received termination letters yesterday evening, despite their long years of service in the company.
Abu Al-Ghanam confirmed that the protest has been ongoing since this morning and that the company refuses to negotiate with them, despite the presence of the General Union of Electricity Workers.
The protesters affirmed that they will continue the protest until their colleagues return to work and the company stop its violations against them.
On the other hand, Omar Al-Azam, the Secretary-General of the electricity generating companies department in the union, mentioned that he attempted to negotiate with the company's management to resolve the issue, but there was no notable response.
Al-Azam explained to the Jordanian Labor Watch that the company has been implementing "provocative" measures on workers for several months, such as assigning them tasks outside their expertise, most of which are physically demanding and hazardous to their safety.
He mentioned that the management once forced workers to grass the area surrounding the company's building, even though it was not within their job description. Noting that they are mostly technicians and engineers.
Al-Azam believed that the workers' reaction to carry out the protest is natural in light of the "provocative" measures practiced by the company against them. He clarified that the protest took place without coordination with the union.
He also mentioned that the Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Labor visited the protest site and listened to the workers' demands and promised to resolve the issue.
Al-Azam emphasized that the union firmly rejects the practices imposed on workers and will continue to address the company until all the demands of the employees are met.
Previously, the union had submitted a letter to the company's management containing the workers' demands related to allowances, but none of them have been implemented so far.
The demands include the payment of "work risk" and "site distance" allowances, in addition to technical allowances for the operation and maintenance departments.
They also include adjusting salaries according to a precise scale based on years of experience and activating social security coverage for all workers in hazardous professions.