Labour minister stresses commitment to minimum wage increase in 2025

AMMAN — Minister of Labour Khaled Bakkaar stressed on Thursday that the ministry remains committed to raising the minimum wage as planned, with no reconsideration of the decision scheduled for early 2025.

Bakkaar also stressed that any adjustments to the minimum wage must be agreed upon by the trilateral committee, which includes representatives of employers, workers, and the government, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

During a meeting with the president and members of the board of directors of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce, alongside representatives from various commercial sectors, Bakkaar stressed that the government, mainly the Ministry of Labour, will not make decisions in isolation from the private sector. 

He also highlighted the ministry's ongoing efforts to engage directly with commercial entities across the Kingdom through meetings and visits to address challenges and work towards resolving them.

Bakkaar also said that His Majesty King Abdullah has directed the new government to adopt a hands-on approach, seeking practical solutions for the issues faced by various sectors. 

He said that the government will work closely with these sectors to set clear timeframes for implementing agreed-upon solutions, ensuring they are aligned with the goals of the Economic Modernisation Vision.

Regarding sector skills councils, Bakkaar reviewed the government’s plans to expand these councils, which play a crucial role in fostering a "genuine" partnership with the private sector.

The councils aim to identify high-demand jobs and create training programmes to equip young people with the skills needed to enter the workforce, according to Petra. 

On the issue of hiring non-Jordanian workers, Bakkaar said that the ministry has begun studying requests from Jordanian employers to open recruitment for foreign labourers across all sectors, adding that the ministry is reviewing plans to diversify the nationalities of foreign workers to prevent monopolisation of certain sectors by specific groups.