"ILO urges Jordan to address labour rights violations, ratify convention", 19 July 2018

Regional Desk Officer for the Arab Region at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Nezam Qahoush has recently stated that there is a “large file of complaints” against the Jordanian government concerning workers’ freedom of association. He expressed the UN agency’s “great concern” over the obstacles faced by workers based in the Kingdom when attempting to assemble... [T]he Jordan Labour Watch (JLW) called for modifications to Article 98 of the Labour Law which designates the professions and sectors in which workers are allowed to form unions, stressing that “the article’s text violates the freedom of association”... On the ground, activists agree, all relevant rulings prevent workers from establishing unions freely, thus depriving them of their right to bargain in the event of a work dispute... [T]he ILO pointed out that the Kingdom has not yet ratified the Convention No. 87 on the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise... INSAN Coalition Coordinator Ahmad Awad... stress[ed] the need to “enable workers to participate actively and genuinely in the protection of their interests, the development of fair labour policies and the social dialogue process”...