General Background

• Project Name: Project of Reinforcing the Capacities of the Social Partners to Raise the Social Dialogue in Jordan "Social Dialogue".
• Executing Agency: Ministry of Labour in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration.
• Benefiting Agencies: The three social partners "government, employees and employers".
• Project Beginnings:  - First beginning: 2001.
                               - Second beginning: 2004.

Project Objectives

The Social Dialogue Project aims at:

• Reinforcing the capacities of the social partners regarding social dialogue.
• Setting up the social dialogue through founding establishments that is legally frameworked for social dialogue (Economic and Social Council, Trilateral Committee for Labour Affairs).
• Developing the labour legislations in conformity with the international standards of labour.
• Raising the capacities of the labour inspectors.

Project Methodology

To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the following work methodology was adopted:

• A higher consultative committee for the project was formed headed by His Excellency, the Minister of Labour as the Head of the Committee with the membership of the heads of social partners' organizations, the approval of the Council of Ministries was taken in this regard.
• Under the patronage of His Excellency, the Prime Minister, a national committee for social dialogue was established (36 members), it was limited at the beginning to the social partners, then it was expanded to include (54 members) as the civil community institutions were included in addition to Parliament representative and Senators.
• The approval of the consultative committee was taken concerning the project plan.

Project Achievements

The key achievements of the Social Dialogue Project are the following:

1. The Jordanian Economic and Social Council:
   
   After acquiring the approval of the Council of Ministries regarding the establishment of the Consultative Jordanian Economic and Social Council, the Social Dialogue Project has exerted all possible efforts to prepare the law of this council through acquainting the national committee for social dialogue with the international expertise in this regards. Besides, a number of foreign experts and heads of the economic and social council were hosted to present their expertise in this domain, in the mid of 2006, the project has completed the preparation of the draft law of establishing the Jordanian Economic and Social Council and was presented to His Excellency, the Minister of Labour, the Head of the Consultative Committee for Social Dialogue Project, to proceed with the official procedures to approve it.
   
   It is worth mentioning that the Economic and Social Council comes as an embodiment of the vision of His Majesty, King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, which aims at making the citizen engaged in the decision making process. The task of the council, whose head is appointed by a royal decree, lies on providing consultation to the executive and legislative authorities in all economic, social, cultural and environmental issues.
   
   Within this framework, and as a result to the efforts exerted by the Social Dialogue Project, the Euro-Mediterranean Summit of Economic and Social Councils, whose final statement included the support of establishing the Jordanian Economic and Social Council, was hosted. 
   
   
2. The Trilateral Committee for Labour Relations in the Ministry of Labour:
   
   In conformity with the tripartite principle and the agreement of the International Labour Organization No. (144) regarding the tripartite consultation approved by the Jordanian government, the project has prepared a special regulation in relation to establishing the trilateral committee with the aim of enabling the three social partners from counseling and providing consultation to His Excellency, the Minister of Labour through a concurrent view with regards to all the issues related to labour relations, the project has completed the preparation of a special regulation of establishing the Trilateral Committee for Labour Relations in the Ministry of Labour, consisting  of 18 member representing the social partners equally, headed by the Minister of Labour, the regulation was presented to His Excellency, the Minister of Labour to proceed with the official procedures to approve it.
   
   It is worth mentioning that under the patronage and the presence of His Excellency, Minister of Labour, the aforementioned regulation has been officially declared in the meeting held by the Social Dialogue Project on 27/5/2007 and attended by the Director of Social Dialogue in the International Labour Organization- Geneva in addition to the heads of the social partners institutions, some ambassadors, and representative of ambassadors for foreign countries as well as the members of the national committee for social dialogue. 
   
   
3. Developing the Jordanian Labour Legislations:
   
   With the aim of developing the Jordanian labour legislations to conform to the agreements of the International Labour Organization and the international obligations and standards of Jordan, the Social Dialogue Project and the national committee for social dialogue have reached the determination of the domains that should be developed in the Jordanian labour legislations in the national symptom held by the project in October 2005.
   
   To this end, a sub-committee, consisting of the members of the national committee for social dialogue, was established to develop labour legislations. Besides, a number of meetings were held in which a number of international experts were hosted.   
   
   By Jordanian efforts, a project for developing the Jordanian labour legislations that conform to the international standards and comply with the national interest was reached, and presented to His Excellency, the Minister of Labour; Head of the Consultative Committee for Social Dialogue Project, another copy of the project was presented to the International Labour Organization to present its remarks. Upon the request of His Excellency, the Minister of Labour, a meeting was held on 11/12/2006 in his presence and under his patronage in which the members of the national committee for social dialogue have participated, the Director of Labour Administration and Social Dialogue in Geneva has attended the meeting and provided the remarks of the International Labour Organization regarding the draft law. 
   
   
4. Labour Inspectors Training Center:
   
   With the aim of raising the capacities of the labour inspectors, Labour Inspectors Training Center was established. The establishment of this center has commenced in the building of the Ministry of Labour- Abdali, as it is planned that the center will include a main hall for training, a hall for using computers which has been equipped with modern computer devices linked to the Internet in addition to an electronic library in which all documents, books, and references related to the work of inspectors are provided in addition to lateral and rest halls. It is expected that at the end of this year, the establishment of the center will be accomplished if the terms agreed upon with the Ministry of Labour were executed.   In parallel to that, the legislator is working now with a specialized committee to develop a program for training the inspectors prepared by the national experts in addition to the international experts. This program consists of five main aspects as follows:
   •  Computer use and English learning.
   • National legislations.
   • International labour standards and the agreements of the International Labour Organization.
   • Vocational practices of the labour inspection.
   • International expertise in labour inspection.
   • Other related topics.
     
     
5. Establishing a Training Hall in the Jordan General Federation of Trade Unions:

   With the aim of raising the capacities of the representatives of trade unions to enable them sustaining an effective social dialogue, the project has established a training hall in the building of the Jordan General Federation of Trade Unions that is equipped with all the technical and training means.

6. 6. Smptoms, Meetings, Workshops, and Study Tours:

   Since its first outbreak, the Social Dialogue Project has presented its plan to the Consultative Committee for the Social Dialogue Project approved by the Committee; the plan included the organization of a number of symptoms, meetings and workshops regarding the international expertise in terms of social dialogue, collective negotiations, mechanisms of settling the individual and collective disputes, assessment and structure of the Ministry of Labour, role and duties of the labour inspection from the international perspective, the international standards of labour and the agreements approved by the Jordanian government…etc., to raise the capacities of the national committee for social dialogue in this regards, in order to follow up the application of that in reality, the Social Dialogue Project has organized a number of study tours for the members of the consultative committee and some of the members of the national committee for social dialogue that included each of France, Spain, Belgium, and Turkey for the purpose of getting acquainted with the economic and social councils in addition to the tasks assigned to them.