The Jordanian Labor Watch condemned the arrest of Ahmad al-Saadi, head of the Independent Union of Workers in Northern Municipalities, for his social media post calling for a sit-in in front of Irbid Municipality to demand employees' rights.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Jordanian Labor Watch said that this measure is part of the government's policy of restricting trade union activity in Jordan, especially independent trade unions.
The Jordanian Labor Watch stressed that this is a clear violation of the Jordanian constitution, which guarantees freedom of opinion and expression, and a violation of international labor standards contained in the International Labor Organization conventions, especially Convention (87) on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize and Convention (98) on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining.
The Jordanian Labor Watch explained that the arrest of the head of an independent union defending the rights of hundreds of workers can only be understood as an undermining of the freedom of trade union work and peaceful assembly and an attempt to weaken the role of trade unions, which are already weak, in defending the rights of their members.
The Jordanian Labor Watch pointed out that the sit-in called by colleague Ahmad al-Saadi came as a result of the Irbid Municipality's failure to abide by the terms of an agreement that had been concluded between it and the Independent Union of Workers in Northern Municipalities regarding the fulfillment of some of the demands of municipal employees.
The Jordanian Labor Watch demanded the release of Ahmad al-Saadi and an end to the restrictions on trade union work, freedom of opinion and expression, and peaceful assembly.
It also demanded that independent trade unions should be allowed to practice their work in defending the rights of their members freely and without any restrictions, as part of strengthening the freedom of trade union organizations in Jordan, which suffers from significant legislative restrictions.