Calling on Jordan to raise its national minimum wage

Publish Date: 
Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Tamkeen Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights urges the Jordanian government to increase the national minimum wage and to include immigrant workers and refugees. The move is a response to growing impoverishment of people living in Jordan as prices continue to increase.

A position paper issued by Tamkeen this week stated that Jordan had witnessed increasing inflation rates due to conflict in the region and the continuous influx of refugees into the country. According to Tamkeen, national economic policies have also  lead to increased costs of basic commodities and services, higher taxes and reduced purchasing power. For example, in 2019, the prices of bread increased by 100% and public transportation by 10%, while the national minimum wage remained as it was since 2017 despite these increases.

According to the paper, the purchasing power in Jordan has been reduced tremendously as a combined result of inflation and low salaries. Tamkeen calls on the Jordanian government to increase the national minimum wage to ensure that people living in Jordan are enjoying their right to an adequate standard of living. It also stressed the obligation of the government to remove all obstacles that could hinder the implementation of a decision to raise the minimum wage and prevent all workers within the labor market from benefiting from this measure. Such steps would contribute to addressing any legislative obstacles in organizing the relationship between employers and workers, as well as contribute to better economic development and the protection of all parties involved in the productive process.


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