August 16, 2016

The results of the national survey of child labor in Jordan for the year 2016 showed that 1.89 percent of children between the ages of (5-17) years in Jordan worked, while the percentage for male children was 3.24 percent and females 45. Only % to match the general percentage of working children , the results of the study conducted in 2007 .

According to the results of the study announced yesterday by the Director of the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, Dr. Musa Shteiwi, at a ceremony held at the university under the auspices of the Minister of Labor Ali Al-Ghazawi, Syrian children ranked first among working children in Jordan. Children of other nationalities ranked second, and Jordanian children ranked first. Last .

Male children from Karak governorate ranked in the results of the survey carried out by the Center for Strategic Studies in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and the Department of Statistics with the support of the International Labor Organization through the project “Towards a Jordan Free of Child Labor” and funded by the US Department of Labor. They ranked first, while females ranked first. Madaba Governorate ranks first among working children in Jordan.

Shteiwi pointed out that the survey provides accurate estimates of child labor in Jordan, which include all residents residing in Jordan, including immigrants, refugee families, and the targeted population in the survey.

 Shtewi warned that the situation in Jordan during the past few years has changed a lot in light of the influx of large numbers of Syrian refugees. He stressed that as a result of these methodological improvements in the National Child Labor Survey in Jordan 2016, it is not accurate to compare the results of this report with the estimates contained in the 2007 Child Labor Survey report (with the exception of the percentage of working children).

While the percentage of working children stabilized in the last survey compared to the survey conducted 9 years ago, the number of working children in Jordan has doubled to exceed 69,000 children, 44,000 of whom work in dangerous jobs.

The results of the survey were based on a sample of more than 20,000 families from all over the kingdom, and it aims to reach estimates in all twelve governorates, including Zaatari camp, the largest Syrian refugee camp in Jordan.

The survey showed that most of the children work in wholesale and retail trade, as well as in agriculture, forestry and fishing.

According to the survey results, most children work more than 33 hours per week.

The survey, which measured only hazardous work among the worst forms of child labor, revealed that children are exposed to a number of hazards such as dust and smoke, in addition to being subjected to physical and psychological abuse.

The number of children aged (5-17) is 40,30384, including 75,982 children, while the number of workers in hazardous work, according to the survey results, is 44,917.

The percentage of children working in hazardous work was more than 71% of working children, while the percentage of children working in dangerous work aged between 12-14 years was 20%.

The percentage of Jordanian children in school reached 95%, while it did not exceed 72.5% for Syrian children.

27% of working children work in agriculture and forestry, and 29% work in wholesale and retail trade.

The survey showed that the school attendance rate is the lowest among Syrian refugees, and that working Syrian children receive lower wages than Jordanian children.

The survey showed that the ratio of workers to the population is the highest among Syrian children, reaching 3.22 percent, followed by other nationalities with 1.98 and Jordanians with 1.75 percent.

The main and main objective of the project and the national survey of child labor in Jordan 2016, is to provide an updated and comprehensive database on child labor in Jordan, to support the creation of an enabling environment to combat child labor, by building on the achievements already achieved in the country, and continuing to complete other initiatives of the Jordanian government and civil society, aimed at reducing student dropouts from basic education, improving working conditions for young people, and gradually eliminating child labour.

The results of the 2016 National Child Labor Survey in Jordan are supposed to facilitate the informed and targeted policy-making process by the Ministries of Labor and Social Development to combat the factors and causes behind child labour.

The 2016 National Child Labor Survey comes nine years after the 2007 National Child Labor Survey, also supported by the International Labor Organization (ILO), which distinguished itself in several advanced aspects from the previous survey.

The survey is estimated by integrating guidelines and statistical measurement standards in child labor and related statistics in child labor – the number of working children is estimated – as contained in the resolution on child labor statistics adopted in December 2008 at the 18th International Conference of Labor Statisticians .

The Minister of Labor, Ali Al-Ghazzawi, said in his speech under the auspices of the ceremony of announcing the results of the study, that we all agree on the size of the loss and the high human and moral cost resulting from overburdening childhood with what it bears in the labor market, and making it vulnerable to economic exploitation, which is the age group that should enjoy its legitimate share of Education, kindness and care “The children of today – gentlemen – are the youth of tomorrow, and therefore they are the future of peoples and the mirror of their economic development and social stability.”

Al-Ghazawi pointed out that Jordan is one of the first countries to ratify international and Arab conventions related to child labor, including ILO Conventions No. 138 and 182 on the minimum age for employment and the worst forms of child labour, and one of the first countries to issue local legislation on child labor that is included in the Labor Law Jordanian No. 8 of 1996, and developed legislation for hazardous work in which the employment of children is prohibited.

He stressed that the Labor Law and its amendments dealt with the phenomenon of child labor and prohibited the employment of juveniles who did not complete sixteen years of age, and stressed the prohibition of employing them in dangerous, exhausting or harmful work until the age of eighteen. In addition, the law does not distinguish between a migrant and a national worker, but rather A working child is treated as a work case, regardless of his gender or nationality, and this is in line with international standards that Jordan has ratified.

He stressed the ministry’s determination to move forward in eradicating this phenomenon by intensifying inspection campaigns and intensifying penalties against those who are proven to be involved in the employment of underage children, and we will spread awareness among parents about the dangers of child labor, guided by the results of this field survey that we are publishing today.

For his part, the President of the University of Jordan, Dr. Azmi Mohafazah, considered in his speech that child labor is a global problem that is exacerbating from year to year and threatening the fate of millions of children in the world who work in harsh and dangerous conditions.

He said that ILO estimates indicate that 215 million children under the age of 18 are involved in child labor, which negatively affects their physical and mental development and their education.

He stressed that the negative impact of child labor extends to strengthening cycles of poverty between generations, undermining national economies and impeding progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

For his part, the Director of the Regional Office for Arab States in the International Labor Organization, Lars Johansen, warned of the danger of the phenomenon of child labor on children themselves, their families, and the societies and countries in which they work.

He stressed the need to protect children from such labor and provide appropriate education for children instead of working, noting that Jordan has taken important steps in recent years to strengthen the response to the policy related to child labor. The Child Labor Unit was established in the Ministry of Labor, which also chairs the National Committee for Child Labor (NCCl) in 2011.

The International Labor Organization expressed its concern over the high number of children who are forced to work in potentially dangerous conditions.

She expressed her hope in a statement issued yesterday, expressing her hope that all stakeholders will use the survey data to address this phenomenon.

The main technical advisor to the ILO project “Towards a Jordan Free of Child Labor” said Insaf Al Nizami in the statement, “We are concerned about the spread of child labor in Jordan. However, we acknowledge that the efforts made by all the active forces have achieved positive results in controlling its rates despite the circumstances. difficult economic and social”.

The Prime Minister had approved the National Framework for Combating Child Labor (NFCCL), which was supported by the International Labor Organization. This framework is designed to integrate efforts to combat child labor among the Ministries of: Labor, Education, and Social Development and to effectively address the identification and referral of child labor in Jordan.

In 2014, Juvenile Law No. 32 was adopted by Parliament, which led to a greater role for the Ministry of Social Development in combating child labor, and the establishment of a Child Labor Unit in it as well.