Amman- March 9^th 2020- Workers in the Loading and Offloading Sector confirmed that the crisis which is currently affecting the Kingdom and the subsequent curfew has compounded their poverty and their difficult living conditions. Therefore, they asked that a decision be made that would lift the curfew and enable them to return to work so that they in turn be able to secure their livelihoods.

In order to shed light on the conditions of these workers, Tamkeen developed a detailed report on their conditions, after the curfew was imposed as a result of Prime Minister Omar Razaz issuing Defence Order (2) on March 20^th, to curb the spread of the Corona Virus.

The report was based on field monitoring for a number of cases, interviews, as well as a number of complaints that were lodged and then analysed. The analysis showed that the curfew has compounded the poverty and the deterioration of the living conditions of the vast majority of workers in this sector. It also left them unable to secure their basic needs or even a piece of bread, which indicates a flagrant violation of human rights and other instruments concerned with social protection.

Tamkeen noted in the report that these workers were already economically struggling prior to the Corona Crisis, and that these conditions got even worse because of it.

Ahmad, a Palestinian Worker in the Construction sector, said that his work stopped since the onset of the curfew, which left him with no income. In an interview with Tamkeen team, he confirmed that his living conditions have worsened, and he is now unable to secure his needs, since he does not have any income and prices are very high.

Tens of other stories highlights that Loading and Offloading workers will not be able to pay their accumulated obligations from rents, to water and electricity bills, and other basic house and children needs.

According to the report, workers from numerous nationalities that include: Jordanian, Syrian, Egyptian, and Palestinians, who work in loading and offloading in several sectors, are subjected to many violations even before the onset of the crisis. These violations have only increased after the crisis, as now these workers are left with no work or wages, since employers refuse to pay them any money to cover for the holiday, in a clear violation to the holiday decisions that were issued by the Ministry of Labour, where it was confirmed that they are applicable to the private sector.

When these workers were asked about the possibility of filing a complaint, they said that they cannot as they might lose their only work opportunity, as other options are limited and maybe even unavailable.

Moreover, the report revealed that there is a clear absence of occupational safety tools, since many workers who transfer gas cylinders are not provided with them including gloves or masks, which would jeopardise them and others to the virus.

The report also monitored a number of violations in this sector, clarifying that the precautionary measures taken to protect them from the Corona epidemic are limited to the use of gloves only. Such light measures make these workers more vulnerable to being infected with the Corona virus due since these gas cylinders keep changing hands from one place to another, thus exposing them to numerous people.

In light of the current situation though, many workers expressed their wish to return to work. These workers even expected that the Defence Order (6) would allow them to return to work, but they were disappointed as their expectations were misplaced as they said.

As a result, the report recommends that mechanisms should be developed to protect loading and offloading workers, and gradually return them to work. It also called for Social Protection programs be developed for this category, since the majority of them are daily workers. Finally, it called for the reducing of eligibility criteria that were determined by the Social Protection Fund in light of the current crisis to include all those affected.