Senate continues dialogues to address foreign farm workers’ shortage

Amman: The Senate's Agriculture and Labor committees on Wednesday followed up on the previous discussions on the issue of foreign agricultural labor shortages. Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Akef Zoubi, said the joint committee met to complete dialogue made by the Senate's Agriculture and Water Committee with representatives of the Jordan Valley farmers regarding foreign agricultural labor and discuss the recommendations. For his part, Chairman of the Labor Committee, Issa Murad, noted the joint committee aims to discuss foreign agricultural labor due to its impact on Jordan's food security and the agricultural sector by supplying the industrial sector with raw materials. Murad said immigrant agricultural labor needs to be regulated in terms of fees, as recruitment and medical examination cost has been raised. Murad pointed to the need to meet farmers' demands, support the agricultural sector, and secure the infrastructure and logistics that facilitate agricultural workers ' activities. The joint committee recommended the necessity of recruiting foreign agricultural workers within the instructions regulating this process, addressing the frequent and rapid changes in government decisions for the sector's foreign workers, and reviewing the related bylaws, according to a Senate statement. The committee also recommended designating a sufficient number of observers in the Ministry of Labor to monitor commitment of workers and farmers to the ministry's regulations and hold a workshop in the Senate to discuss this issue thoroughly. Source: Jordan News Agency