Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Prime Minister, Dr. Omar Razzaz, is scheduled to announce on TV shortly the Defense Order No. 6 issued under Defense Law No. 13 of 1992.

Defense Order No. 6 aims to protect the rights of workers in various economic sectors in light of plans to gradually resume operations across some sectors, with the curfew sustained .

The Defense Order also provides criteria to benefit from support programs for various institutions and individuals amid the economic challenges triggered by the Covid-19 crisis.

Razzaz also said: Our goal in the current stage on the economic level is to retain most job opportunities, and to continue work of the private sector, while adhering to the health precautions, in a balanced manner that ensures that no party of production shoulders the greatest burden, relying on the real partnership with the private sector that has proven over the years, in all the difficult stages Jordan has encountered.

The Prime Minister pointed out the public and private sectors share the responsibility, especially with eye to the relationship linking the worker and the employer, stressing: Now, not tomorrow is the time for solidarity for the benefit of all.

The Prime Minister also said Jordan has become a model for fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, adding" we also want to be a model in economic recovery from the crisis."

Over a hundred years of the Jordanian state, he said: We are used to turning difficulties and challenges into opportunities for success, progress and change for the better.

"Today we will follow this path, and we will turn the crisis to new success, under our wise Hashemite leadership, and with the help of our dear people," he affirmed.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the government's efforts in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges facing the private sector and the foundations that will be adopted to deal with the crisis at the economic level and support extended to the worker and the employer during the next stage.
In this context, Razzaz said: We are keen to rely on reliable information and consultation with the private sector to reach these foundations."

He also noted:"We are talking today about protecting the worker, the employer and the national economy," noting there are more than one scenario to deal with the crisis given the number of novel coronavirus cases and the capacity of Jordan's health sector in dealing with infections.

On the lowest virus infections scenario, he said : "This is the scenario that we all seek, but this requires everyone to have a high level of commitment, even if we succeed, we will move on to the other challenge, which is the economic challenge that requires addressing all of the crisis's problems.
The private sector highly feared disruption of the production chain and wondered whether the ports will remain operational , in addition to availability of raw materials concerns, he pointed out.

The most significant the private sector had was the availability of liquidity and its ability to pay the costs and salaries, as well as the purchasing power of Jordanian society, he pointed out, stressing that these two things are interrelated, and if we do not all cooperate, the purchasing power will decrease, which will be reflected on the employer.

The prime minister also highlighted economic protection programs aimed to protect the institutions and press ahead swiftly, in addition to social protection measures focusing on the irregular workers.

Labour Minister, Nidal Bataineh, said there is a balance between work interests and workers at this stage.
He noted that there are clear and specific mechanisms for moving from the status of facilities that are not authorized to operate to facilities authorized to operate, taking into account health and preventive factors first and foremost.

He pointed out that the general framework of establishments authorized to work or not authorized, is the Distance Working if possible, partly or completely, indicating that in the case of part-time and distance working, the number of working hours must be taken into account for the worker to calculate his salary and according to the minimum wages.

As for employees who do not work in establishments that are not authorized to work, Bataineh explained that the worker deserves 50 percent of the minimum regular wage, provided that he does not fall below the minimum wage.

With regard to establishments authorized to work, he indicated that the worker whose work nature requires being in the facility deserves his full wages, and he does not deserve any additional wages unless he executed work that requires obtaining this wage, stating that it is permissible by consensus and absolute will between the worker and the employer, that the employee would reduce 70 percent of his salary.

As for workers whose work does not require being in the facility or distance working, Bataineh indicated that they deserve 50 percent as a minimum of their regular wages, pointing out that this case obliges the employer to submit an application to the relevant committee referred to in Defense Order No. 6.

He pointed to another mechanism for the employer to submit a request to suspend the facility, which is based on the decision of the competent committee to refuse or accept, stressing that the suspension according to the defense order has its consequences, including the owner’s inability to continue to work in the facility, so that the contracts remain in place but the owner is not required to pay the wages to workers, indicating that the legal relationship remains constant between the two parties, but the owner continues to perform his obligations towards any third party other than the worker, in addition to "a no disposal of movable or immovable assets" note.

According to Bataineh, there is a difference in the two cases of suspension between the establishments that are not authorized to work or authorized to do so, indicating that the establishments that are not authorized to work, their employer still enjoys economic protection programs, while employer of the establishments authorized to work, voluntarily suspended, does not benefit from any economic protection programs, in the case of the suspension.

Bataineh said that, according to Defense Order No. 6, layoffs or terminations of employees contracts are done in accordance with the Labor Law and the circumstances specified in Article 28 that include serious material and moral damages stipulated in that article, stressing that "contrary to these conditions, no employee may be dismissed", in addition to preventing employees from signing any pledges detracting their rights, pointing out that the opportunity still exists for the establishments or institutions that carried out these procedures after the 18th of last month to revoke them within a week of publishing the decision in the Official Gazette, whether to cancel these pledges or to rehire their employees amicably.

He stressed that any termination of employee services and undertakings exclusively in the conditions stipulated by the Labor Law, after the date of March 18, are to be canceled, pointing out that salaries are accounted from the same date and until the end of last month and trhe employer must pay the normal wage for all workers, whether those who on the job or not without counting the overtime, unless the worker has performed work that requires obtaining it, without the allowances of the official holiday.

He explained that the instructions issued by Defense Order 6 will be reviewed periodically from the competent ministries, stressing that the official teams have taken into account the balance between the employer and the worker, especially in light of the circumstances the Kingdom is going through as a result of the novel Coronavirus.

For his part, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, Tariq Hammouri indicated that government teams work around the clock to take into account all integrated economic interests, in addition to other intersecting economic interests.

Hammouri explained that there are some economic and commercial sectors that have started to work, such as the food, pharmaceutical and detergent sectors, and their supply chains, to ensure the sale of food, detergents, medicine and sterilizers to citizens.

He noted that there are sectors that have been operating to the moment, whether industrial or commercial ones, indicating that the government is looking carefully to start a gradual return operations of sectors that are not authorized to work, taking into account the general safety conditions and health standards necessary to prevent the Coronavirus between workers.

He emphasized that there is a focus on starting the work of sectors that do not operate, including export, while taking the necessary protective controls and safety conditions, with the aim of starting to pay the wages of workers in these establishments that Defense Order No. 6 spoke about.

Hammouri pointed out that the government is communicating periodically and continuously with private sector establishments to work on updating all requirements and procedures required, to ensure that this sector continues as much as possible.

For his part, Minister of Finance, Mohammad Asass said the Coronavirus crisis is global and the world economy did not expect it and will cause an economic recession and severe contraction, stressing that Jordan will be negatively affected by this crisis.

He stressed that the government is working hard to ensure that its economic response to the crisis is similar to the health response "that we are proud of", noting that "our projections for the financial and economic impact on Jordan are profound and will affect public revenues."

He pointed out that there are challenges created by the Coronavirus crisis, and that there are opportunities that the government is working to exploit, such as: low oil prices, and the digitization and regulation of the economy.

With regard to public finances, the Minister of Finance indicated that Jordan will not make the mistake that other countries have made in previous similar crises, stressing that "we will not reduce spending, especially at this time because it will accelerate the economic slowdown, but rather we seek to maintain the same level of spending, with a redistribution of priorities to maximize economic benefit and social protection."

On the internal and external obligations and bonds due against Jordan, Al-Assas confirmed that the government made all necessary arrangements to pay them on time, and there is no concern in this matter.
He stressed that Jordan will go through this crisis economically stronger, and we are working hard to increase the private sector’s strength and ability to overcome it."