Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Jordan (Ratification: 1968)

Legislation giving effect to the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government, among other things, to take the necessary measures to:

• repeal the legal provisions that exclude foreign workers from the right to directly engage in collective bargaining, in particular section 98(e)(1) of the Labour Code;
• revise the Labour Code or the Regulation on domestic work with a view to expressly recognizing the right of domestic workers to organize and bargain collectively;
• amend section 98(f) of the Labour Code to grant the rights under the Convention to all workers having reached the legal age of admission to work;
• review section 139 of the Labour Code, in full consultation with the social partners, with a view to effectively strengthening the penalties for acts of interference, to ensure that they are sufficiently dissuasive;
• remove all obstacles to trade union pluralism, including by repealing section 98(d) of the Labour Code and Ministerial Decision No. 2022/45 (which restrict union formation to a closed list of 17 industries and economic activities, and provide that no industry or economic activity may have more than one union representing it) to ensure that workers in all sectors of the economy can exercise their right to organize and freely bargain collectively through the organization of their choosing.

The Committee notes with regret that despite its reiterated requests, some of which date back to 2011, the Government has not yet reported any progress in bringing the legislation into conformity with the Convention. It also notes that the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 3337 (411th Report, June 2025) invited the Government to accept a direct contacts mission in light of the lack of progress in amending the legislation to address the Committee’s recommendations relating to the issues as listed above. The Committee urges the Government to take all the necessary measures to draft and adopt legislation that takes into account the comments that the Committee has been making for more than a decade, with a view to giving effect to the principles of the Convention. The Committee encourages the Government to seek the technical assistance of the Office to make progress in this respect.

Collective bargaining in the public sector. Education sector workers. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the absence of a legal framework explicitly recognizing the right to collective bargaining of public sector workers who are not engaged in the administration of the State. It also noted the Government’s previous statements that public employees may form unions to defend their interests provided they are established under special laws, and that no such special legislation had been enacted other than the JTA Act. The Committee further observed that members of the Jordanian Teachers Association (hereinafter the JTA), which mostly represents public sector teachers, did not appear to enjoy the right to collective bargaining.

Recalling that the right to collective bargaining must be guaranteed for workers in both public and private educational institutions, the Committee notes with deep regret that the Government has once again not provided any information on the outcome of pending court cases involving JTA executives and members, which concern issues such as the dissolution of the union’s executive board and criminal charges (including incitement to hatred, disturbing the order of an education institution, unlawful assembly, misuse of authority and wasting public funds), nor has it addressed the serious allegations made by the ITUC (including persecution, arrests and detention of JTA leaders, replacement of the union’s leadership, and restrictions on collective action). In this context, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that, on 17 July 2025, the Constitutional Court issued Decision No. 7/2025, which declared the Jordanian Teachers’ Act null and void. The Committee understands that, following this decision, the JTA no longer has a legal basis to operate. The Committee firmly urges the Government to ensure that all public servants not engaged in the administration of the State, including public sector teachers, have the right to establish organizations to defend their interests and engage in collective negotiations over their working and employment conditions through the trade union of their choice. It also firmly urges the Government: (i) to take all the necessary measures to effectively recognize in law and practice the right to collective bargaining of the members of the JTA, (ii) provide information on the outcome of all pending cases against the JTA and its members, and (iii) provide its comments on the observations made by the ITUC in 2023.

Collective bargaining in practice. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the number of collective agreements concluded was 31 in 2024 (covering 50,151 workers) and 21 during the first half of 2025 (covering 132,131 workers), and that the first collective agreement covering workers in the agricultural sector was reviewed in 2025. It notes however that the Government has still not provided the requested information on measures taken to promote collective bargaining in sectors with a high presence of foreign workers and in the domestic work sector. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of collective agreements concluded and those currently in force, including the number of workers covered. It also once again requests the Government to promote collective bargaining, particularly in the sectors with a high presence of foreign workers, as well as in the domestic work sectors. It once again requests the Government to specify the number of migrant workers covered by collective agreements.

[The Government is asked to reply in full to the present comments in 2026.]