"'Agricultural sector ailed by more than financial troubles’", 7 April 2018

...The president of the Specific Union for farmer Women in Jordan, Zeinab Momani, said that while the sector suffers, workers also do, especially women. “Labour rights of women farmers are unprotected by a contract like guest workers. They work per diem with an average daily allowance of JD5, and the minimum safety procedures are not provided in the workplace nor in transportation. Most farmers suffer from asthma due to unsafe usage of pesticides and many suffer injuries from falling from pickups that transfer them to and from the farms,” Momani said. Financial challenges are secondary to issues such as the poor working conditions and labour exploitations that farmers face, Momani stressed. Mohammad Mitwali, an Egyptian farmer, said that long working hours, unpaid annual and sick leaves and the lack of health insurance are some of the labour exploitations pushing Egyptian workers — estimated at 100,000 in the Kingdom — to leave farms and enter other sectors... [While] labour exploitations are "widespread and severe"... workers are deterred from filing complaints due to fear of losing a source of income and ignorance of the law. Mitwali maintained that land owners exploit guest workers in many ways. “The worker pays JD400 before arrival to his Kafeel [individual sponsor], JD350 to obtain a work permit, JD50 for a medical report, and JD50 to get a leave,” he said...