In a report, the Jordanian Labor Observatory drew attention to the suffering of female agricultural workers with the Coronavirus pandemic in the Jordan Valley farms.
The head of the independent union for workers in the agricultural sector, Mithqal Al-Zanati, spoke to the “Labor Monitor” saying, “Women workers in farms earn 5 dinars or a little more every day, and now they do not receive anything, and most of them are married and have children.”
Al-Zanati demanded that men and women workers should be allowed freedom of movement from housing to the farm, in particular, that men and women workers cannot survive in these stalling conditions, and that allowing workers to move, is within the interests of farmers, which leads to maintaining agricultural productivity.
Al-Zanati also confirmed that the number of workers in the agricultural sector within the Jordan Valley reaches thousands, most of whom are women.
One of the workers asked, “We used to work on farms, and although we are not getting enough, we now cannot afford to buy our children their milk or their needs.”
The female worker also noted: “We get paid 5 or 6 dinars per day, and there are women and girls who support their families, and because of this pandemic all of them cannot know. We have no insurance, no guarantee, no salary, if we work we can eat, if we do not we would not find what to eat.”
The government had announced earlier precautionary measures to confront the Coronavirus pandemic, the most prominent of which was the disruption of public and private institutions, and the closure of land and sea borders. This group has not been granted an exception that gives them freedom of movement.
Estimated indicators show that the vast majority of agricultural workers in the Jordan Valley do not enjoy any form of social protection, and do not have a steady income.
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