AMMAN - The Labour Ministry has resumed issuing work permits to expatriate construction labourers, processing hundreds of permits over the last 10 days, a Jordanian Construction Contractors Association (JCCA) official told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.
The JCCA had previously claimed that the ministry stopped issuing work permits to foreign labourers in the sector in order to encourage contractors to hire National Company for Training and Employment (NCTE) graduates.
Labour Ministry Director of Recruitment Amjad Weshah told The Jordan Times at the time that the ministry never fully suspended the issuance of work permits to foreign construction workers, pointing out that over 500 permits were issued last month.
Meanwhile, JCCA President Dirar Sarayrah, NCTE officials and several contractors met this week to discuss issues related to the military-run company's training and employment initiative.
During Monday's meeting, Sarayrah called on construction companies to recruit as many NCTE trainees as possible in order to render the initiative a success.
"This is a national priority and aims to address unemployment rates in the Kingdom by gradually replacing foreign workers with the local labour force," Sarayrah said yesterday.
He added that the NCTE agreed to lower the salary it sets for its trainees from JD300 to JD240 per month.
According to the JCAA president, the construction sector has hired more than 3,500 recruits who have graduated from NCTE programmes.
Sarayrah stressed that contractors must employ at least 10 NCTE graduates in order to benefit from the new, lower trainee salary. Those hiring less than 10 trainees will be committed to pay them the original salary of JD300, he added.
For his part, NCTE CEO Alaa Masri stressed the importance of maintaining an open dialogue with the construction sector, adding that the company will study any complaints or suggestions submitted by local contractors.
At the end of Monday's meeting, contractors agreed to hire an additional 200 trainees immediately and vowed to sustain cooperation with the military-run company.
By Hani Hazaimeh
© Jordan Times 2008
