"11,789 workplace accidents registered in 2014", 25 April 2015

There is no database for work-related accidents in Jordan, except for statistics issued by the Social Security Corporation (SSC) which only cover institutions registered with it, a research centre said Saturday. However, institutions registered with the SSC employ only 62 per cent of the total workforce in Jordan, the Phenix Centre for Economic and Informatics Studies said in a statement released on the occasion of World Day for Safety and Health at Work, annually observed on April 28. The centre’s director, Ahmad Awad, said national laws related to workplace safety are compatible with international laws, but the implementation of safety standards varies in small and large companies. Awad noted that large firms are more committed to applying safety standards than small- and medium-sized businesses. The weak implementation of safety standards in some workplaces is related to “ineffective inspection campaigns by authorities”, he said, and employees themselves are sometimes unaware of their rights when it comes to safety. SSC statistics showed that there were 11,789 workplace-related accidents among subscribers in 2014. Of those, 19 per cent were among migrant workers and 6.3 per cent among working women...