The Jordanian Labor Watch has confirmed that the 2024 flexible work system, which was recently approved by the government, is still weakly implemented, despite the positive amendments that have been made to it.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Jordanian Labor Watch indicated that the positive amendments addressed some of the gaps that existed in the previous system in terms of more disciplined language and consistency with labor standards in the labor and social security laws, in addition to clarifying the forms of flexible work and the categories benefiting from it.
However, the amendments did not address the main issue that prevented the implementation of the previous system on the ground, which is the requirement of the employer's consent when converting a worker's contract to a flexible work contract, according to the Jordanian Labor Watch.
Paragraph (a) of Article 6 of the new system gives employers the power to approve or reject the request of a worker who wants to convert his or her contract to a flexible work contract, the Jordanian Labor Watch explained.
The Jordanian Labor Watch believes that the implementation of the system on the ground will be weak as long as its enforcement mechanisms are still tied to the requirement of employers' approval, as it said in its statement.
The Jordanian Labor Watch emphasized that the origin of the approval of employers should be in coordination between them and workers wishing to convert their contracts into flexible contracts, not by requiring the approval of employers, because this is a right for male and female workers within the categories specified in the system, and in order to achieve the desired goals of the system, which are to increase the employment rate in the labor market, contribute to reducing the unemployment rate, and increase the percentage of women's economic participation.
The Jordanian Labor Watch explained that the government should have realized the gaps that existed in the previous system and fixed them in the amended system because the previous system did not meet the needs of the labor market, especially after the Corona pandemic, because its application was linked to the approval of employers, which led to its lack of wide application and was not taken seriously by enterprises.
The Jordanian Labor Watch called on employers to raise awareness of the need to apply the flexible work system to their male and female workers, as it has positive effects on their productivity and is their right, and to get rid of the idea that the worker will not perform his duties when he works within flexible work forms.