Jordan halts hiring of foreign workers

Jordan’s Ministry of Labor suspended Thursday the recruitment of non-Jordanian workers after a three-month window.

The decision aims at meeting the labor needs of various economic sectors, the ministry’s spokesperson, Mohammad Al-Zyoud, said in a statement Thursday.

He noted that the ministry will not reopen recruitment without a thorough and comprehensive review of the labor market.

Al-Zyoud stressed that inspection campaigns will continue in coordination with the Ministry of Interior and Public Security Directorate (PSD) across all governorates to identify and take legal action against employers hiring undocumented foreign workers.

The inspections also aim to ensure that workers brought in by private-sector businesses are employed by the companies that sponsored them.

Strict penalties will be imposed on any business found in violation, including suspension of recruitment privileges and refusal to renew work permits issued under the company’s name.