By-law makes it mandatory to hire Jordanians in state projects

AMMAN — The Council of Ministers on Sunday approved a by-law that makes it mandatory for contractors implementing government projects to hire Jordanian workers, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The labour force should include newly graduated engineers in the three processes involved: design, implementation and supervision.

In addition, the main contractor should transfer part of the contract to a sub-contractor from the governorate where the government project is planned, the new regulation says. Priority in employment is given to the residents of the district in question, according to the by-law.

The articles of the by-law apply to all government construction tenders in the Kingdom, including those issued by ministries, government departments, universities, municipalities and any authority or commission formed under the law, in addition to companies that the government has stakes in. 

Any bid by a contractor or a supervising engineering office will be ruled out in the case of not abiding by the regulation. 

Also under the by-law, foreign companies in governorates are required to employ fresh graduates, including engineers and technicians from the governorate in all fields, including mining, extractive industries, development industries, water purification, renewable energy projects and any construction project endorsed by the National Building Council. 

A higher committee is also going to be formed in order to supervise the commitment of the concerned authorities in implementing the by-law rules in their construction projects, and it will send periodic reports every six months on the matter to the Cabinet. 

Public Works Minister Sami Halaseh, who is going to head the higher committee, said that the regulation was drafted under the directives of Prime Minister Hani Mulki, with the aim of addressing unemployment.