NGO calls on government to ratify labour convention

AMMAN — Freedom House, a US-based NGO, has called on the government to ratify the “Violence and Harassment Convention in the World of Work” endorsed at the International Labour Conference (ILC) recently held in Geneva, Switzerland. 

A Jordanian delegation, headed by Labour Minister Nidal Bataineh took part in the 108th ILC earlier this month, along with 187 International Labour Organisation (ILO) member states, where the convention was endorsed, according to a Freedom House statement. 

Jordan, in April, also amended the Labour Law to require enterprises with 10 or more employees to adopt anti-violence and harassment policies, the NGO highlighted. 

The Ministry of Labour will now only grant registration for new businesses with 10 or more employees if they have “clear” policies in place to protect workers regardless of gender, according to the statement. 

The policy was drafted using ILO reports and input from stakeholders, Freedom House consultant Reem Aslan said in the statement.

Freedom House called on the government to go further and amend Article 29 of the Labour Law to “ensure that all workers are protected from any type of violence and harassment, including the ones that work in small enterprises with less than 10 employees”.

A study conducted by the Jordan National Commission for Women in 2018 found that 75.9 per cent of people had experienced some form of harassment. Another 2018 study by the Arab Renaissance Organisation for Democracy and Development found that 52 per cent of Jordanian women seeking legal advice on labour-related issues "informally reported being subjected to sexual harassment", and that "75.3 per cent of women who were harassed in the workplace did not consider taking legal action” due to a lack of confidence in the laws, a fear of consequences and social stigma, the statement said.  

However, the amendments, created with support from Freedom House,  Women as Partners in Progress Coalition, the Jordanian National Commission for Women, the General Federation of Trade Unions’ Women’s Committee and The Netherlands aim to implement policies in line with international labour standards, as well as national development strategies and plans to fight sexual harassment in the workplace, according to the statement. 

“We are confident that such policies will promote and adopt safe and decent working conditions for both women and men and will encourage women economic participation.” Rawan Daas, policy adviser for development cooperation at the Dutch embassy, said in the statement.