AMMAN -- The union of textile workers on Tuesday appealed to the government to include its members in the recently introduced increase in the minimum wage from JD95 to JD110.
"It is unfair to exclude members of the federation from the increase in minimum wage," Fathallah Emrani, president of the General Trade Union of Workers in Textile, Garments and Clothing Industries, said in a letter addressed to Labour Minister Bassem Salem.
Earlier this month, a special committee tasked with studying workers' salaries introduced a JD15 increase in the minimum wage, effective June 1.
"The measure was taken to support the workforce, which is facing high cost of living and harsh economic conditions," Salem said.
The committee, however, excluded textile industry workers from the raise for this year, deferring its enforcement until January 2007.
The government said it wanted to give investors in the special economic zones enough time to adapt to the new wage system.
But Emrani questioned the "wisdom" behind such a decision.
"This is an unprecedented discrimination between workers... "These workers are Jordanian citizens who suffer like the rest from price increases," he told The Jordan Times.
He urged the government to reconsider its decision and include textile industry workers in the raise.
Last month, the government lifted fuel subsidies, affirming the hike would not cause new hardships due to measures it had taken to offset the effect of what it described as minimal but necessary increases in prices.
The government announced it would disburse financial assistance to citizens on low and medium incomes.
According to the plan, citizens whose share in the family's total annual income is less than JD1,000 are entitled to cash support.
According to labour union figures, there are around 18,000 Jordanians working in textile industry, compared to 35,000 foreign workers in the sector.
A general increase in the cost of living, double-digit unemployment and a lingering slowdown in many sectors due to regional crises, are compounding the hardships of the labour class.
Labour unions believe the minimum wage is one of the most effective tools to encourage Jordanians to replace an army of almost one million guest workers engaged in low-paid blue-collar jobs shunned by most citizens.
Unemployment is officially estimated at 13.5 per cent and independently at 27 per cent, while more than one-third of the country's 5.5 million population lives below poverty line.
Industrialists warn that raising the minimum wage may encourage further layoffs in factories already working at half-capacity because of shrinking demand for local products in regional markets.
The Minimum Wage Law went into effect in late 1999, setting the minimum wage at JD80. It was increased by JD5 on Jan. 1, 2003, and by another JD10 last year.
By Mohammad Ben Hussein
© Jordan Times 2006
