Placing people’s needs at the top of the policy agenda

JCLA actively engages with justice stakeholders to propose sustainable solutions to the challenges faced by workers in Jordan. Its involvement ranges from presenting policy papers, to holding workshops and collaborative meetings with representatives of government agencies and labor unions.

Among its efforts, JCLA’s contribution to the agriculture sector is especially noteworthy. In judicial practice, in fact, agriculture workers’ claims do not fall under the Labor Law, but under a separate bylaw, which however is not enacted. JCLA’s approach to tackle this issue is not limited to presenting policy and legislative recommendations, but it also relies on strategic litigation. By arguing in court that agriculture claims can be regulated by the Labor Law, JCLA creates legal precedents to protect and claim workers’ rights, until the bylaw is issued.

Further, JCLA has played a key role for migrant workers during the COVID-19 lockdown. The Ministry of Labor, in fact, issued a decision that all labor-related fines and fees for migrant workers would be waived, so that they could travel to their home country without fearing to be arrested. JCLA assisted over 300 workers in completing their procedures, securing a safe return home for women and men who had not been able to go back to their families in years.

A committed defender of the rights of the vulnerable, JCLA ensures that justice stakeholders take concrete action towards the achievement of decent work in Jordan.