Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The Jordan Customs Department's operations were halted and delayed on Monday as employees embarked on a mass strike from work at the department's main headquarters, airports, and border points throughout the kingdom.

The employees' work stoppage comes in protest of the department's "stalling" in dispensing incentive bonuses and in meeting the employees' financial and labor demands.

Over 1,000 of the Customs Department's employees protested in front of the department's headquarters in downtown Amman and briefly blocked the vital King Hussein Street, causing a major traffic jam in the area.

The employees are demanding fixed wage increases, monthly bonuses, annulling the penalties system, and customs exemptions for their personal vehicles, protesting employees told Ammon News.

They stressed that they will continue to demand their "financial and labor rights" until they are met, noting that the pressures to stop the strike will not be answered.

Meanwhile, a number of citizens contacted Ammon News and complained of the delay in processing their transactions at the Customs Department because of the strike that began on Monday.

Ammon News attempted repeatedly to contact officials at the Customs Department but there was no response as of Monday afternoon.