Jordan to start crackdown on undocumented workers

The [Jordanian] Ministry of Labour is planning a joint inspection campaign with security agencies to crack down on illegal guest workers after the grace period granted to them concludes on March 7, a ministry secretary official said on Tuesday. Labour Ministry Secretary General Hamadah Abu Nijmeh chaired a meeting on Tuesday to examine the preparations needed for the inspection campaign, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The campaign will target employers and guest workers of all nationalities who fail to rectify their status within the grace period and are violating Article 12 of the Labour Law, which prohibits non-Jordanians from taking up a job without a valid work permit. Abu Nijmeh stressed that the two-month grace period concludes at the end of the working day on March 7 and there are no plans to extend it. Petra quoted him as saying that the two months were enough for employers and workers to obtain work permits. He said 24 inspection teams were formed to implement the campaign, each comprising a number of labour inspectors and several officers from the residency and borders department, according to Petra. The teams have the jurisdiction to refer violators immediately to the competent court. According to ministry figures, around 40,000 migrant workers have so far rectified their status. These constitute only 10 per cent of the total number of illegal guest workers in the Kingdom, Petra reported. As mny as one million foreign labourers may be working in the Kingdom illegally, having either changed their workplaces without notifying authorities or let their work permits expire, according to previous statements by officials. Albawaba Business