107 complaints received by Tamkeen document violations against migrant workers during 2025

Tamkeen Calls for Urgent Measures to Strengthen the Protection of Migrant Workers in Jordan

Amman — A specialized position paper has recommended a set of urgent legislative and executive measures to enhance the protection of migrant (“foreign”) workers in Jordan. Chief among these is the continued alignment of national legislation with international standards, as well as the ratification of International Labour Organization Convention No. 189 concerning decent work for domestic workers. The paper also calls for the development of complaint mechanisms to ensure they are safe, easily accessible, and available in the languages spoken by migrant workers. It stresses that the receipt of complaints should not be limited solely to electronic platforms; particularly the Ministry of Labour’s “Himaya” platform. In addition, it recommends the establishment of a comprehensive and effective wage protection system that guarantees the timely and full payment of wages, is linked to robust monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, and includes deterrent sanctions. Such a system would help curb the widespread practice of delayed or unpaid wages and reduce migrant workers’ reliance on informal means to claim their rights.
This was stated in a press release issued by Tamkeen on the occasion of International Migrants Day, observed annually on 18 December. In the statement, Tamkeen emphasized that this occasion represents an annual opportunity to renew focus on the rights of a group that contributes significantly to sustaining the operation of key sectors within the Jordanian labour market, at a time when gaps in implementation persist despite the relative development of the legal framework. Tamkeen recalled that, in 1990, the United Nations adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families as a global reference framework. However, the effectiveness of this protection remains contingent upon its translation into enforceable policies and oversight mechanisms that are effectively implemented in practice.
Tamkeen further noted that migrant (“foreign”) workers constitute a fundamental pillar of the Jordanian labour market. By the end of 2025, the number of valid work permits issued to non-Jordanian workers reached approximately 315,000, excluding thousands of workers who are employed without permits and under precarious conditions. Data from the Department of Statistics, according to the Employment and Unemployment Report for the third quarter of 2025, indicate that migrant labour accounted for 46.4% of total employment, compared to 46.1% during the same period in 2024, an increase of 0.3 percentage points. This underscores the continued reliance on migrant labour across various productive and service sectors, while simultaneously raising questions regarding the level of effective protection afforded to migrant workers in both the workplace and daily life.
With regard to social protection, Tamkeen clarified that data from the Social Security Corporation indicate a relative improvement in the inclusion of non-Jordanian workers. The number of non-Jordanian workers mandatorily insured increased from 175,637 in 2023 to 189,575 in 2024, representing a growth rate of 7.9%, with males accounting for 71.2% and females 28.8%. At the same time, Jordanian workers constituted 86% of the total active insured persons in 2024, compared to 14% for non-Jordanians, reflecting the persistence of a coverage gap despite the recorded growth. In terms of wages, the data showed that 14.4% of insured non-Jordanian workers earn monthly wages not exceeding JOD 220, while 76.7% earn JOD 300 or less. This places the majority within low-income brackets, increasing their vulnerability to any delay or deduction in wages.
On the field level, Tamkeen revealed that it received 107 complaints from migrant workers between 1 January 2025 and 7 December 2025, emphasizing that this figure does not reflect the actual scale of violations. Rather, it indicates that officially reported cases represent only a limited portion of a broader reality, given the multiple barriers to reporting. An analysis of the complaints clearly highlighted the gender dimension, with women’s complaints accounting for 76.6% of the total (82 complaints out of 107), compared to 23.4% for men (25 complaints). This is closely linked to the concentration of a large proportion of migrant women in the domestic work sector, where work takes place inside private homes within closed environments that restrict mobility and limit communication beyond the workplace.
At the nationality level, the data showed that complaints were concentrated among a limited number of nationalities. Ethiopian nationals accounted for 27.1% of the complaints (29 cases), followed by Egyptian nationals at 16.8% (18 cases), and Filipino and Ugandan nationals at 15.9% each (17 cases per nationality). Collectively, these four nationalities represented 75.7% of the total complaints. The remaining percentage was distributed among other nationalities, including Bangladeshi workers at 5.6% (6 cases); Ghanaian and Indian workers at 4.7% each (5 cases per nationality); and Indonesian, Sri Lankan, and Algerian workers at 1.9% each (2 cases per nationality). Individual complaints, representing 0.9% each, were recorded from Somali, Kenyan, Nepalese, and Tunisian workers (one complaint per nationality). Tamkeen considered that this distribution primarily reflects the ability of certain groups to access reporting channels and does not imply that violations are limited to these nationalities.
The statement further confirmed that wage-related violations were the most prevalent. A total of 56 complaints concerned the non-payment or delayed payment of wages, making wage irregularities the most common issue. Other labour rights violations were also documented, including deprivation of annual leave (37 complaints), failure to pay overtime compensation (34 complaints), and exceeding the legal maximum working hours (33 complaints). The statement noted that, in practice, working hours in many sectors may extend to 10–16 hours per day. With regard to personal freedom, Tamkeen recorded 34 complaints related to the confiscation of personal documents, including passports, considering this practice a serious infringement on personal liberty that restricts workers’ ability to move freely or to terminate their employment relationship.
Under the social protection and basic services pillar, Tamkeen recorded 33 complaints related to the exclusion of male and female workers from social security coverage, as well as 11 complaints concerning the lack of access to healthcare services. This reflects shortcomings within the social protection system and exposes workers to occupational and health risks without adequate compensatory or medical safeguards. The complaints also documented violations related to living and working conditions, most notably the failure to provide a designated sleeping space (12 complaints), particularly within the domestic work sector.
More alarmingly, according to the statement, complaints were received regarding violence and abuse, including physical assault or bodily harm (10 complaints), sexual harassment (6 complaints), work under threat (8 complaints), and the exploitation of vulnerability through coercion or blackmail (10 complaints). These forms of abuse are typically underreported and difficult to document, suggesting that their actual prevalence may be higher than reflected in the recorded data. Tamkeen also documented complaints related to legal status and residency, including the failure to issue or renew work or residency permits (14 complaints) and the accumulation of fines imposed on workers (9 complaints). Such practices place workers in a legally precarious situation, significantly limiting their ability to claim and exercise their rights.
The statement explained that the recorded patterns of violations; particularly the confiscation of personal documents, non-payment of wages, excessive working hours, threats, and the exploitation of vulnerability; should not be viewed merely as isolated labour violations. Rather, they must be understood within a broader context of unequal employment relationships, which in some cases may intersect with indicators of forced labour or human trafficking, as defined under Jordanian legislation and international standards. Tamkeen stressed the importance of strengthening the capacity of relevant authorities to distinguish between minor labour infractions and serious violations that warrant criminal proceedings and specialized protection for victims.
Tamkeen further affirmed that migrant women workers in the domestic work sector face compounded challenges due to the nature of work inside private homes, the difficulty of effective inspection and oversight, and restrictions on mobility and communication beyond the workplace. This renders the complaint process particularly complex and fraught with legal and administrative repercussions for them. Tamkeen also noted that the absence of preventive protection mechanisms from the recruitment stage, coupled with inadequate explanation of employment contracts in languages understood by the workers, contributes significantly to the deepening of their vulnerability.
In its statement, Tamkeen stressed that addressing these indicators requires confronting the implementation gap as the outcome of intersecting factors. These include the limited access of labour inspection teams to closed or semi-closed sectors, as well as the uneven effectiveness of complaint mechanisms due to their practical confinement to a single platform, the Ministry of Labour’s “Himaya” platform, which may not adequately reflect the realities of workers who lack digital access or sufficient technical knowledge. The statement further emphasized that the recurrence of violations combining confiscation of documents, pressure and coercion, threats, and wage deprivation intersects, in some cases, with the constituent elements of the crime of human trafficking under Jordan’s Anti-Human Trafficking Law, thereby necessitating more effective accountability pathways and comprehensive support for victims.
Tamkeen concluded its statement by reaffirming that the protection of migrant (“foreign”) workers constitutes a fundamental pillar for regulating the labour market, reducing informal employment, and enhancing its overall stability. It underscored that bridging the implementation gap requires a comprehensive approach that translates constitutional and international commitments into practical, enforceable measures. In this context, Tamkeen emphasized that International Migrants Day should serve as an opportunity for a serious review of labour policies and as an entry point for developing a participatory national plan that converts legal provisions into tangible, effective protection on the ground—thereby promoting balanced employment relationships and serving the interests of workers, employers, and the national economy alike.