Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Medical Examination of Young Persons (Underground Work) Convention, 1965 (No. 124) - Jordan (Ratification: 1966)

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Medical examination of persons under 21 years of age prior to underground work in mines. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s information, in its report, regarding the regulatory framework surrounding the requirements to ensure the fitness of workers in various sectors of employment.

The Committee notes that young persons under the age of 18 are prohibited from employment in mining, by virtue of the Decision of the Ministry of Labour of 2011 relating to hazardous, stressful or health-jeopardizing work for juveniles, promulgated pursuant to section 74 of Labour Law No. 8 of 1996.

For individuals aged 18 to 21 engaged in mining, the Government refers to Regulation No. 32 of 2023, which covers preventive and curative medical care for workers in various establishments. This regulation contains numerous legal provisions aimed at ensuring worker fitness. According to Section 4, every employer or manager must arrange for periodic medical examinations to maintain workers’ health and fitness. These examinations follow guidelines established in 1999 regarding workers’ initial medical examinations at establishments, which also include several provisions for ensuring worker fitness. Section 2 provides that all individuals must undergo an initial medical examination before employment to ensure they are fit for work in various sectors, including mining. Section 3 mandates that these medical examinations include lung function tests for workers exposed to dust.