Ad-Dustour employees want JD5m from gov’t to ‘salvage’ daily, threaten escalation

AMMAN — Ad-Dustour daily employees said on Thursday they will start a series of escalatory measures as of August if the government does not take measures to address the financial crisis at the newspaper.

Employees at the country’s oldest newspaper, established in 1967, set a deadline of August 2 for the government to secure JD5 million to address the “humanitarian crisis” at the newspaper or a series of measures will be taken.

“We want the JD5 million to pay some of the salaries for the employees. Ad-Dustour employees have not received salaries for the past eight months. The situation is alarming and we need a solution,” Awni Daoud, managing editor of Ad-Dustour’s economic section, said on Thursday.

In a statement issued by the newspaper’s staff members, they called on the government to shoulder its responsibilities and secure the amount as soon as possible.

“After running out of all options to address the situation, the staff will take several measures soon if the demand is not met,” the employees said in the statement.

According to Daoud, if the demand is not met by the deadline, the staff will hold several protests and sit-ins in front of the newspaper, the Prime Ministry and the Social Security Corporation and will rally other associations and youth groups for support.

“The detailed escalatory measures will be announced in the due time if the government does not listen to us. It has been several months already and we have not witnessed any positive progress in addressing this crisis,” he added.

The state-owned Social Security Investment Fund owns nearly 30 per cent of the Jordan Press and Publishing Company, which publishes Ad-Dustour, while the Jordan Engineers Association owns 18 per cent and the newspaper’s employee fund owns 5 per cent. 

Other shares are owned by private shareholders. 

The daily witnessed the layoff and voluntary resignation of scores of staff members over the past few months amidst the ongoing financial crisis.

In their statement, the employees said there is no genuine willingness to address the situation at the newspaper.

“We need the money as soon as possible to conduct maintenance for the printing press, which is the lifeline of the newspaper. It has been several months since the press underwent maintenance and because of that we lost several tenders to print books and magazines,” Daoud said.

“We need the cash soon to buy paper rolls for printing as we currently buy from local markets, which is 40 per cent higher than importing it,” he said.

Tareq Momani, president of the Jordan Press Association, said the syndicate is closely following the situation at Ad-Dustour. 

He added that the cooperation of all stakeholders is needed at this stage to address the financial situation at the newspaper. 

“The newspaper is in dire need of cash and quick efforts should be taken to salvage it,” Momani said over the phone.

The association, he said, will continue to take measures to help resolve the crisis.