His Majesty King Abdullah today stressed that the organization of the labor market was a top priority and should be dealt with efficiently.

During a meeting at the Royal Court with Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit and senior government officials to discuss labor issues, King Abdullah urged the drafting of a clear timetable for the activation of a comprehensive strategy to help deal with workers' issues.

The King also stressed the importance of devising a plan that would encourage local enterprises to replace guest workers with Jordanian workers, while continuing to offer support to various industries, including the garment sector, to boost its competitiveness.

King Abdullah also reiterated the need to deal firmly with industries located in the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs) that violate the labor law and called for stricter oversight of factories cited for frequent violations.

The King indicated that factories could continue to recruit foreign workers in order to maintain their production levels until a sufficient number of Jordanian workers were qualified and trained to replace them.

Expressing his support for the Ministry of Labour and the need to provide it with human resources and capabilities, King Abdullah said a new labor law should be clear and transparent, and tackle all issues related to guest workers.

Bakhit affirmed the government's commitment to speed up work on the draft labor law.

During the meeting, Labour Minister Bassem Salem briefed the gathering on the number of guest workers at the country's 13 QIZs, whose export volume reached around $1.18 billion last year. The QIZs employ 53,000 workers, 16,000 of them Jordanians.

The Jordan Times