Ensour highlights child labour problem due to refugee influx

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Monday highlighted the impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordan, especially on the “irregular” labour market.

Delivering an address at the International Labour Organisation  (ILO)Conference in Geneva, Ensour said Syrian refugees’ infiltration into the labour market has led to reduced salaries, because these workers accept low wages. 

This has created social crises, the premier said, especially in the governorates and cities that are heavily populated with refugees.

This phenomenon has exacerbated the problem of child labour in Jordan, he added, noting that working refugee children constitute 70 per cent of the working children in the Kingdom.

The premier stressed that Jordan is fully aware of the seriousness of this humanitarian problem and believes in children’s right to live in a sound environment that is free of poverty and injustice.  

Noting that the Kingdom will maintain its open-border policy, Ensour said the international community should shoulder its responsibility in this regard, highlighting the economic costs incurred by Jordan due to hosting a large number of Syrian refugees.

On the sidelines of the conference, the premier met with the participating Arab labour ministers and the ambassadors of Arab countries at the EU headquarters in Geneva.