Trade unions and rights groups in Jordan have submitted a number of demands to the new minister of Labour during a radio broadcast discussing labour issues. Trade unions and rights groups have called on the minister of labour to amend articles, 2, 44 and 98 of the labour law. Article 2 limits the right to utilise the tools of collective labour disputes resolutions set out by the labour law to trade unions only, while non-unionised workers are denied this right.

Article 44 is related to collective bargaining and disputes resolution. This article deprived the majority of workers in the private sector from entering into collective bargaining with their employers as well as benefiting from the collective disputes resolutions’ tools provided by the law. Finally, Article 98, which is related to the right to freedom of association, imposes restrictions on the right of workers in various sectors to form unions. This article gives the right to the minister of labour the authority to set out classifications for sectors and economic activities in which workers are entitled to form unions, in violation of the workers right to join or from unions of their own.

Moreover, Randa Nafaa from Sadaqa organization has criticized the absence of government policies and decisions promoting the work of women. She has called on the Jordanian government to ratify the ILO 190 relating to the violence and harassment in the workplace.

The head of the Independent Syndicate for Agriculture workers has called on the government to improve the poor working conditions in the agricultural sector, provide adequate social protection to all agriculture workers and address the issue of low wages.