labor watch - Labor protests escalated dramatically and unprecedentedly during the first nine months of 2011 reaching 607 labor protests.

In comparing these numbers with the overall labor protests that took place in 2010 totaling 140 protests (which was then previewed as being the most numerous in the history of labor protests in Jordan), it can be said that labor protests of this year 2011 will represent a milestone in the history of social transformations in Jordan.

These protests represent a clear and explicit expression of the depth of the economic, social and political crisis that Jordan is going through, and come as a result of a number of accumulated factors pushing large numbers of workers to protest against their hard working conditions. Among these factors are the decline in employment terms and conditions for the majority of workers in Jordan in terms of the significantly low wage rates and the adopted rate of minimum wages, and the fact that large segments of workers are deprived of their basic labor rights as stipulated in the Jordanian labor legislations and the international labor standards, which include the daily working hours, annual leave, sick leave, public holidays, provision of social protection such as health and social security etc., as well as the poor health and safety conditions and other requirements of decent work.

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