SSC stresses need to utilise Syrian workforce in Jordan

Jordanian Social Security Corporation’s (SSC) Media Director Musa Sbeihi said on Wednesday (August 15) that the number of Syrian nationals subscribed to the SSC is 11,678 including 150 employers working in their own establishments.

Official data indicate that the number of work permits granted to Syrian workers reached 108,000, while the number of Syrian workers in the Jordanian labour market exceeds this figure.

Sbeihi called for maximising the use of Syrian refugee labour, in a way that would positively affect the Jordanian economy within an equation that does not affect the job opportunities of Jordanians, reported the Jordanian news agency, Petra.

In addition, he stressed the need to provide a social protection umbrella for Syrian employees through including them in social security insurances, as a large number of Syrian employees work in the construction sector, which is one of the sectors that saw an increase in the rates of accidents and injuries. 

The Jordanian State Minister for Media Affairs Jumana Ghneimat said this week“It is up to the refugee to decide whether he wants to return or not although the presence of huge numbers of Syrians has become a burden for Jordan.”

About the reported establishment of a center nine kilometers from the border with Syria, Ghneimat said this initiative was part of Russia’s larger proposal for the return of refugees, adding that the matter was under study by the Jordanian government.