Amman, June 18 (Petra) — The General Trade Union of Workers in
Public Services, Free Professions, Communications and Information
Technology, and the Jordan Restaurants Association signed a
collective labor agreement on Thursday covering the sector as a
whole, benefiting around 23,000 workers across 1,450 tourist
restaurants. The agreement will run for three years, with an
estimated total value of JD3.5 million.
According to a union statement, the agreement was signed by Union
President Khaled Abu Marjoub and Association Chairman Issam Fakhr
al-Din, in the presence of Director of the Ministry of Labor’s Labor
Relations Department Adnan Al-Dahamsheh.
Under the agreement, the association commits to prioritizing the
employment of Jordanian workers in tourist restaurants and working
toward gradually replacing foreign labor by encouraging and training
local workers to enter the sector.
It also stipulates that restaurants collecting a service charge of 5
percent (or any future approved rate) must distribute the full amount
equally among all employees without withholding any portion, in line
with current practice and each restaurant’s operational conditions.
The agreement further requires compliance with any Cabinet decision
regarding minimum wages for Jordanian workers (290 dinars), while
ensuring that service charges are not considered part of basic
salaries. It also mandates adherence to labor and social security
laws, including provisions related to insurance coverage, working
hours, leave entitlements, overtime pay, and public and religious
holidays.
Additionally, tourist restaurants are required to issue fair
employment contracts in accordance with applicable laws, provide
annual salary increases where possible based on inflation rates, and
organize awareness workshops for both employers and employees on
labor rights and obligations.
The union, for its part, committed not to submit any new labor
demands to the association for a period of three years from the date
of signing.
The agreement defines the union as representing all workers in the
tourist restaurant sector, while the association represents all
licensed and classified tourist restaurants under the Ministry of
Tourism and Antiquities.
//Petra// WH
