Labor Watch - Director of the Information Center at the Social Security Corporation, Mosa Alsbaihi, revealed that workers of more than 3577 out of 4500 private medical clinics, among them 1000 dental clinics, were not covered by social security.
Alsbaihi said that the number of registered clinics reached 1470 private clinics, out of them 547 reported that they employed nobody, accordingly, the number of registered clinics who employed (secretaries) and covered by social security reached 923 representing only 20%.
He reported that only 3 physicians had responded to the media campaign of the Corporation and had contacted the telephonic window assigned by the Corporation in order for medical clinics to contact the Corporation to register their secretaries. Alsbaihi denounced the unresponsiveness of private sector physicians who own clinics in this regard.
Alsbaihi added that the number of private medical clinics was estimated at 4500 clinics, each of them employed one secretary at least, in addition to other technicians, commenting that keeping most of these secretaries outside the social security coverage deprives them from protection ensured by the Social Security Law.
Alsbaihi said: “we cannot understand this reluctance on the part of doctors at a time when the Corporation decided to exempt institutions which proceed to include their workers retroactively as of the date of their joining work from 70% of the due penalties on overdue contributions”.
He emphasized that the goal was to encourage eluded employers to take the initiative and respond to this legal and human obligation and duty, adding that inclusion of women in the social security was a cause to increase their participation in the labor market, and hence, increasing their economic participation. Percentage of women covered by social security, according to Alsbaihi, was still too low and never exceeded 25% of the total number of the insured, which engendered women protection in the future; whereas the percentage of women who received pension benefits never exceeded 14% of the total social security pensioners.
Alsbaihi called upon each of the Jordan Medical Association and the Jordan Dental Association to urge all their members of clinic owners to register their clinics with the social security in order to maintain rights of their workers of secretaries and the like; reiterating that the Social Security Law had obliged all employers in the kingdom to include their workers regardless of the number or nationality.