Gov’t hires majority of Agriculture Ministry day labourers

AMMAN –– The government has employed 190 day labourers this week who were laid off by the Agriculture Ministry late last year, according to officials.

According to Mohammad Sneid, president of the public sector day labourers’ committee, the government started hiring the workers three days ago, enlisting their services in the agriculture, education, environment and industrial sectors.

He noted that the fate of the remaining 66 day labourers laid off by the ministry has yet to be determined.

“The remaining labourers are holders of diplomas and bachelor’s degrees and are registered in the Civil Service Bureau… this is why the government decided to postpone hiring them,” Sneid told The Jordan Times on Monday.

“We will not consider the case closed until all unemployed workers are appointed,” he stressed, commending the government’s efforts to address the matter.

Sneid indicated that 130 workers were reinstated at the Agriculture Ministry, adding that that 30 were hired at the Environment Ministry, eight at the Education Ministry and the rest were employed at the Jordan Industrial Estate Corporation.

He highlighted that the workers were hired at the same posts and salaries they received at the time of their dismissal, noting that Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Tawfiq Kreishan is following up on the matter.

The 256 labourers were laid off last December in accordance with a Cabinet decision preventing appointments outside the official payroll.

In August last year, the Cabinet decided to halt any recruitment outside the official payroll and to exempt the ministries of health and education from the decision for 2009 and 2010.

20 April 2010

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