Jordan: Jordan Steel co. allegedly dismissed 90 workers for "inciting a strike"; incl. co. response
"90 workers dismissed in Zarqa on the pretext of "inciting" a strike" 14 September 2021
Jordan Steel terminated the services of 90 workers under the pretext of "inciting a strike" and vowed to dismiss more workers if the strike they began to carry out last Thursday continued.
The company...based its dismissal decisions on the Labor Law, which has drawn condemnation from workers and dismay at how the legal articles have been misinterpreted contrary to their intended meaning.
Workers who were terminated told Jordan Labor Watch that the company's management terminated six workers on Monday, followed by 84 others on Tuesday.
They mentioned that for the past six months, the company’s management has been late in paying their salaries until the middle of the month and sometimes even later, citing the difficult financial conditions of the company...
The General Union for Workers in Mines and Metal Industries addressed the management of the company on the need to pay salaries and to not to violate the law.
The union also demanded that "the health insurance of employees of the company should not be compromised under any circumstances...otherwise workers and the union will protest which is guaranteed to them by law, including strikes and sit-ins."
The company’s CEO, Moataz al-Hassan, stressed that the company "is going through bad financial conditions, which prevented the payment of salaries of workers on legal dates.”
He explained that the decision to terminate workers was due to "incitement to strike that lasted more than four days, which led to the disruption of work in the company and led to damages and serious losses.”
Hassan indicated that more workers will be terminated if the strike continues, explaining that the nature of the work within the company requires work to not stop in any way.
"The suspension of work violates the Labor Law and makes it an illegal act of incitement contrary to the provisions of Article 135 and the allowance for Article 136, sub article A, of the Labor Law," read the workers' termination letter...