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Workplace disputes fall into two categories collective and individual.

COLLECTIVE

Collective labour disputes are between a group of employees (often represented by

their trade union) and their employer

The Jordanian Labour Law defines Collective Labour Dispute as every dispute that arises

between a group of employees or labour union on one hand and the employer or employers association

on the other hand about the application or interpretation of a collective work contract or pertains to

the circumstances and conditions of work.

The figure below depicts the elements of the Collective Labour Dispute:

To resolve such disputes the Law provides for clear and binding procedures, as

follows:

(1) Mediation proceedings managed by the Conciliation Representative:

The Conciliation Representative (CR) is an official of the Ministry of Labour

appointed by the Minister and having a mandate to undertake Mediation procedures

over a certain geographical area and for a certain period of time. Lawyers may not be

retained by the Parties before the Conciliation Representative.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

PROCESS

UNDER THE JORDANIAM LABOUR LAW

NO.8 FOR 1996 AND ITS AMENDMENTS

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Once a collective dispute is referred to the Ministry the CR initiates the mediation

process to help the parties in reaching a binding negotiated agreement. This should be

done no later than 21 days from the date of the referral of dispute. Otherwise, the CR

should prepare a report on the dispute to the Minister who - failing to reach a

resolution - will refer the matter to a Conciliation Board.

(2) Conciliation Board:

The Conciliation Board is appointed by the Minister. It is chaired by a neutral person

and made up of 2 or more representatives of the disputing parties selected by them.

The members of the Board should do all that is necessary to reach a complete or

partial resolution to the dispute. All reports issued by the Conciliation Board must be

in writing and signed by all the representatives. Every dissenting member of the Board

should record his opinion in writing in the report. Lawyers may not be retained by the

Parties before the Conciliation Board.

If a resolution is reached the Conciliation Board will prepare a report to the Minster

annexed to it the binding settlement reached. This should be done no later than 21

days from the date of the referral of dispute. Otherwise, the Conciliation Board will

prepare a report to the Minster on the dispute and includes any recommendations.

Subsequently the Minster must refer the dispute to the Labour Court.

(3) Labour Court:

The Labour Court is a special court that convenes upon the request of the Minister. It

is comprised from three regular judges delegated by the Judicial Council for this

purposes. The Court is headed by the most senior judge and can convene in the

presence of two of its members. If their opinions differ, the third judge shall be

invited to participate. Labour disputes referred to the Labour Court shall be given an

urgent status. The Court shall convene within 7 days from the date of referral of the

dispute to it, and issue its final and binding decision within 30 days. The decision of

the Court shall be passed unanimously or by majority. Every dissenting member of

the Court should record his/her opinion in writing in the decision. Both parties may

appoint a Lawyer(s) to represent them before the Labour Court.

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The figure below outlines the process as reflected in the Law.

Finally it should be noted that all sessions of the Labour Court and the Conciliation

Board shall be held at the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry is responsible for

providing the administrative requirements, facilities and equipment. Both the

Conciliation Board Report and the Labour Court Decision should be published in one

or more local daily newspaper at the expense of the parties and within 30 days from

the date of the Minister’s receipt of the report or decision.

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INDIVIDUAL

Under the Jordanian law, Individual labour disputes arise from claims of labour rights

grounded in law or contract. Individual labour disputes occur between a certain

company and one of its employees, and can be during the period of employment or

after redundancy.

During Employment

Internal Regulations

For general issues all Companies employing 10 or more employees must adopt

Internal Regulations that are approved by the Ministry of Labour. These Internal

Regulations outline the working hours, daily and weekly rest period, work violations,

penalties and measures taken in respect thereof including the discharge from work,

method of its implementation and other details required by the nature of work

(Article 55 of the Labour Law). Accordingly, the Company’s Internal Regulations

should outline the company rules and the procedures for dealing with employee

complaints. These procedures should be followed by the employee and the employer.

Wage Authority

In case of disputes over wages of any type, the Employee may resort to the Wage

Authority. This is an administrative procedure established by a decision of the Council

of Ministers upon a recommendation of the Minister of Labour. The Wage Authority

will have jurisdiction over a certain geographical area (Article 54 of the Labour Law).

It is meant to give fast and easy relief to the worker to receive his/her wages whether

its shortage in the paid wage, illegal deductions, delaying its payment or related to

payment for overtime hours.

A claim is filed before the Wage Authority by the Employee, but the Law also allows

the labor union to do so on his/her behalf. It is also permissible to submit one claim

from a number of Employees if they are working in the same Company and the

reason of their complaint is the same. Each of the two parties to the dispute may

appoint someone to act on his/her before the competent Wages Authority (such as a

lawyer).

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The decision of the Wage Authority is binding and enforceable and may be appealed

before a court of appeal within 10 days of its notification. Claims before the Wage

Authority or request for enforcement are exempt from fees.

After Redundancy

Wage Authority Mediation:

Under the Labour Law the Employee can ask for Mediation before the Wage

Authority to resolve any dispute. As a condition such request must be filed no later

than 6 months from the date of the termination of employment. If the Employer or

his/her representative fails to appear before the Wage Authority it can fine the

Employer 50 JODs. In doing so the Wage Authority shall follow the procedures as set

out in the Law for the Settlement of Civil Dispute through Mediation (the Law No.

12 for the year 2006).

Court Procedures

The Courts on Conciliation has a jurisdiction over all individual labour disputes,

except for wage disputes eligible to be heard by the Wage Authority. The Law

provides that labour disputes should be dealt with as urgent and resolved with 3

months, yet on average court procedures take around 2 years to issue a decision which

is subject to appeal. Once finalized, the court decision is binding and enforceable. In

principle these cases as well as the request for enforcement are exempt from all fees.

It should be noted that the Law for the Settlement of Civil Dispute through

Mediation No. 12 for the year 2006 allows the Judge; after meeting with the parties

and upon their agreement, or based on their request, to refer the dispute to Court

Mediation. The Mediator can be a judge or a private mediator selected by the parties

upon the approval of the Conciliation Judge. The Law also provides that the

Mediation process must be confidential, without prejudice to the legal positions of the

parties’ and be completed within 3 months from the date of referral of the dispute.

If a positive settlement is reached, the Mediator submits a report including the agreed

settlement to the Conciliation Judge, which once ratified is, final, binding and

enforceable.

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In cases where no agreement was reached, a mediator also prepares a report that

reflects the level of the parties’ participation in to the proceedings. Thereafter the

judicial proceedings are continued.

The table below provides a snapshot of the available avenues for the formal

settlement of individual labour disputes.

Individual Labour Disputes

During employment After redundancy

For general issues the Company Internal

Regulations outline the procedure to be

followed by the employer and the

employee

Wage Authority Mediation – optional at

the request of the employee

In case of disputes over wages of any

type – the employee may resort to the

Wage Authority

Judicial procedures before the court of

Conciliation

- Court Mediation referred by the

Conciliation Judge subject to the

agreement of the parties

The Jordanian experience with Mediation is young and mostly in court based

mediation which to date is established only in the Palace of Justice in Amman. The

Jordanian legal system accepts mediation for labour issues as it presents a fast,

efficient, confidential, and less costly approach to prevent dispute escalation in the

workplace and to reach a fast and amicable resolution to labour disputes once they

occur.

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JORDAN BETTER WORKPLACE ASSOCIATION is a

Jordanian NGO established in 2013, with the aim of enhancing democratic values in the workplace. As a member based organization, comprised of professionals that are driven by the desire to be positive agents for change in these challenging times. Working on a volunteer basis; members draw on their skills and expertise to achieve the NGO’ s goals, supported by external international advisors. To this ends, JBWassociation works to provide a complete cycle of inclusive and complementary legal, human resources development and research activities. These are:

Legal Solutions: Offering mediation services in the workplace supported by legal tools to provide standard legal documents and information notes.

Training: Training and capacity building activities and educational toolkits. Policy & Advocacy : Conducting research, studies and drafting policy papers, awareness building campaigns and advocacy with stakeholders.