The Jordanian Labor Watch welcomed the government's decision to amend the Human Resources Management Law to allow public sector employees to work outside official working hours.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Jordanian Labor Watch said the move is in the right direction and alleviates the suffering of employees, especially in light of the low wage levels and the insistence on not raising them.
In order to strike a balance between improving the efficiency of the public sector and protecting workers' rights, the Jordan Labor Watch emphasized that there are other key articles in the system that need to be amended, which will enhance the performance of the public sector and achieve sustainable development in Jordan.
One of these articles, according to the Jordanian Labor Watch, is the text of the article that allows the termination of an employee's service during the trial period without giving reasons, considering this a violation of the principles of justice and transparency.
Jordan Labor Watch recommended amending this article to require that there be objective reasons for terminating an employee's service, notifying the employee of them, and giving him an opportunity to defend himself.
The Jordanian Labor Watch pointed to another article that allows shortening or canceling the annual leave of a public sector employee, stressing that this violates the rights of employees and negatively affects their health and performance.
The Jordanian Labor Watch recommended that the text authorizing this be repealed or amended to ensure the right of employees to receive their full annual leave and to provide a system to compensate them for any canceled leave that is conditional on their consent.
According to the Jordanian Labor Watch, this is inappropriate to the economic and social realities in Jordan, and they emphasized the need to amend this restriction to enable employees to explore new job opportunities and improve their standard of living and to grant them one continuous year.
The Jordanian Labor Watch criticized the failure to amend the article that enshrines the powers of the public administration to refer employees to early retirement against their will, stressing that the continuation of this trend threatens the stability of the labor market and the sustainability of the social security system. It recommended putting controls on the termination of employees' services and guaranteeing their rights.
The Jordanian Labor Watch also criticized the failure to reconsider the article that prohibits the participation of public sector workers in demonstrations and strikes, considering that this prohibition is a violation of the basic rights of employees, such as freedom of opinion, expression, and peaceful assembly.
The Jordanian Labor Watch recommended abolishing this ban and allowing public sector employees to exercise these rights within regulatory standards that do not cancel the right to exercise them.