Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights recommended that the minimum wage be raised to ease the burden of the people due to current economic conditions in the Kingdom and the constant increase in inflation rates. The organization also called for the inclusion of migrant workers and refugees within the minimum wage decisions.
This came in a "position paper", in review of the minimum wage, inflation, poverty, the high prices and the increasing taxes over the successive years.
Furthermore, Tamkeen called on the committee to work on upholding the 8th article of its latest decision in 2017 which calls for the yearly review of the minimum wage according to the economic and social conditions including: cost of living, economic status, and GDP. It also iterated the need to face any recurring challenges that hinder the process of implementing the minimum wage decision on all workers in the various sectors in the labour market. Such steps would contribute to addressing any legislative obstacles in organizing the relationship between employers and workers; as well as contribute in better economic development and the protection of all parties involved in the productive process.
The paper pointed out that the inflation rate has increased, during the recent years due to several external factors, including the wars in the region and the continuing waves of asylum, as well as several internal economic factors, including the lifting of subsidies on oil derivatives and some other products.
It is noteworthy that the Jordanian Labour Law links the minimum wage to the cost of living. However, there is a major obstacle in following this criterion because of the debate over the poverty threshold in Jordan. In fact, in accordance with the international standards, the minimum wage is supposed to be higher than the poverty threshold, where the legislator considers the poverty threshold as a red line that should not be exceeded, in case the minimum wage is set.
This law took place, despite the fact that Jordan has acceded to the main human rights conventions that shed light on equality and the non-discrimination, as well as the ILO conventions in this regard, especially the Labour Convention No. 111 on the non-discrimination in employment and workplaces.
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