Child Labour in Jordan

Jordan is one of the first countries that ratified the international conventions related to the protection of children from economic exploitation, namely the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two protocols, and the conventions affiliated with the (ILO) International Labour Organization (Minimum Age Convention No. 138, and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182). The national legislation related to combating child labour is fully compatible with the international conventions. The results of a child labour survey conducted by the Department of Statistics in 2016, indicated that the number of children aged (5-17) is 4,030,384 in the Kingdom, of whom 75,982 working children. The number of children working in hazardous work as per the survey results is 44,917.
A study of the economic, social and health indicators of the child labour in Jordan, conducted by the Ministry of Labour in cooperation with the Social Support Center, indicated that most working children are concentrated in the capital, Amman, and the governorates of Zarqa and Irbid, respectively. The study also showed that the distribution of occupations in which children have been working were various car mechanics, loading and unloading, cleaning, blacksmithing, carpentry and sewing.

Inspection Department for Reduction of Child Labour

The Department assumes the following duties and responsibilities:

• Developing and implementing effective agenda and policies aimed at reducing child labour in general, and its worst forms in particular, in cooperation with all official and non-official bodies.
• Ensuring the extent of compliance by the private sector institutions with the provisions of the Jordanian Labour Law No. 8 of 1996 and amendments thereof, with regard to child labour by intensifying the periodic field inspection visits by the labour inspectors, and implementing the specialized inspection campaigns on some sectors where there is child labour.
• Reviewing and amending the national legislation related to child labour to contribute to the protection of children from economic exploitation.
• Raising public awareness on the phenomenon of child labour, especially with regard to its worst forms, through awareness and educational programs about the dangers arising from child Labour by holding awareness sessions for children, the parents and the employers, in addition to distributing the brochures, posters, educational materials, and visual, audio and printed media.
• Networking with all international and national institutions through coordination and cooperation with the parties concerned with reducing child labour in order to follow up on the implementation of international and national projects, implementing activities, and preparing all necessary to contribute to the reduction of child labour.
• Developing the capabilities of the workers through continuous qualification and training for labour inspectors on the topics of interview and communication techniques related to juveniles, methods of determining their forms of work and risks of the work environment, in cooperation with all relevant bodies.
• Contributing to the development of the national strategies and agenda for the withdrawal and rehabilitation of working children through the projects of international and national supporting bodies.
• Preparing the annual plan for the implementation of the Department's programs and functions and following up on their implementation.
• Conducting social and economic studies on the phenomenon of child labour and determining its size and areas of span , in cooperation and coordination with all official and voluntary bodies.
• Establishing a national monitoring system for child labour and linking it to the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Social Development.
• Reviewing, developing and activating the legislation related to the phenomenon of child labour, in addition to the legislation related to work, education and social service, in amanner to serve the work of the Department in cooperation with the Directorates of Legal Affairs and International Cooperation.

Conditions for employing a juvenile of sixteen years old

1. The juvenile has reached the age of sixteen years, proved by a certified copy of the juvenile's birth certificate.

2. The juvenile must obtain a certificate of health fitness to perform the required work, certified by the Ministry of Health.

3. The juvenile must obtain a written consent from his guardian to work in the facility.

4. The juvenile may not work in hazardous or exhaustive works, or those harmful to health as specified under the Decision of His Excellency the Minister of Labour, issued in accordance with the provisions of Article No. 74 of the Jordanian Labour Law No. (8) of 1996 and amendments thereof, which are published on the website of the Ministry.

5. The juvenile may not work on religious, weekly and official holidays.

6. The juvenile may not work between 8 P.M. to 6 A.M.

7. The juvenile may not work more than six hours per day, provided that he is given a rest period of no less than one hour after working four consecutive hours.

8. The monthly wage may not be less than the minimum wages.

9. The above documents shall be kept at the workplace in a special file for the juvenile with sufficient information about his place of residence, date of employment, the work for which he was employed, his wage and vacations. In the event that juveniles working in workplaces are apprehended by labour inspectors and they have fulfilled the previous requirements, the labour inspectors will not take any measures against the entity that employs juveniles.

Projects:

Child Labour Reduction Project.

Related Links:

• Children Labour Site
• To download “The National Strategy for Reducing Child Labour in arabic,” click here (file size 351.04 KB, pdf)
• To download “The National Framework for Combating Child Labour in arabic,” click here (file size 351.04 KB, pdf)
• To download “The National Survey of Child Labour in Jordan 2016 in arabic,” click here (file size 1399.96 KB, pdf)
• Child Labour Occupational Safety and Health Guide in arabic, click here (file size 1248.34 KB, pdf)
• World Day Against Child Labour, 2021
• Events Report of the World Children's Day, 2021  in arabic, click here (file size 682.8 KB, pdf)
• Events of the World Children's Day 2021

Forms:

To report a case of a working child, click here
To download the form for the Condition for employing a sixteenth-years-old juvenile in arabic, click here (file size 64.65 KB, pdf)