The Organizational Structure of the Jordanian Labour Movement

• A. The General Federation of Jordan Trade Unions
  • The Mission of the General Federation and its Objectives
  • The Organizational Structure of the General Federation
• B. Trade Unions in the Federation
  • 1. The General Union of Construction Workers
  • 2. The General Union of Petroleum and Chemicals Employees
  • 3. General Trade Union of Municipality Employees
  • 4. The General Union of Private Education Employees
  • 5. The General Union of Public Services and Free Professions Employees
  • 6. The General Union of Health Services Employees
  • 7. The General Union of Railway Employees
  • 8. The General Union of Food Industry Employees
  • 9. The General Trade Union of Printing, Photography and Paper Employees
  • 10. General Trade Union of Textile Industry
  • 11. The General Trade Union of Electricity Employees
  • 12. The General Trade Union of the Employees of Banks, Insurance, and Auditing
  • 13. The General Trade Union of Mines and Mining Employees
  • 14. The General Trade Union of Commercial Stores Employees
  • 15. The General Trade Union of Ports and Clearance Employees
  • 16. The General Trade Union of Air Transport and Tourism Employees
  • 17. The General Trade Union of Land Transport Employees and Mechanics
• C. The Status of the Labour Movement

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The Organizational Structure of the Jordanian Labour Movement

This section deals with the internal structure of the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions and introduces its associated members. The organizational structure of the Jordanian Labour Movement consists of a united framework on the national level, which is the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions in Jordan. It currently includes all seventeen Labour trade unions. Before the 1967 war, when the West Bank was part of the kingdom, the Labour movement consisted of 29 trade unions, members of the General Federation, and 11 single trade unions that did not join the Federation.

A. The General Federation of Jordan Trade Unions

As pointed out, the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions was established in 1954 through the initiative of six Labour trade unions. Their aim was to strengthen the constitutional framework of the Jordanian Labour Movement, to unify its efforts for the sake of protecting itself, and to encourage workers to enlist in member unions. The membership of the General Federation developed in a few years to reach 23 unions in 1957 and 29 in 1967 out of 40 then existing.

Due to the 1967 war and the occupation of the West Bank, and later the events of September 1970, the number of unions in the General Federation decreased to 21. This further dropped to 17 after the re-organization of the trade unions, merging some unions and abolishing others. The General Federation currently includes the same number of trade unions as it did after the re-organization of 1976, with no new trade unions founded.

Table 4 shows the member trade unions of the Federation and the size of their membership, as of spring 2001. It is noticed from this table that the total membership of the Federation is about 230,000, making the Federation the largest civil society organization in Jordan.

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The current legal basis for the Federation is Labour Law number 8 of 1996. The Ministry of Labour is the government agency concerned with the General Federation and all trade unions, as it is entrusted with registering member unions, monitoring elections, and mediating in disputes arising between employers and unions.

The General Federation of Labour Trade Unions participates in the boards of directors of many public institutions related to hired work, such as the Social Security Corporation, the Vocational Training Corporation, the Public Administration Institute and the Labour Cultural Institute. (The latter no longer exists independently as it has come under the supervision of the General Federation of Trade Unions but has not been activated.) The Federation is also represented in the Economic Consultative Committee, which is formed by the Council of Ministers, and includes representatives of government, the private sector, and the Labour movement. However, the committee is rarely convened and has no serious influence on economic policies.

Regionally and internationally, the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions is a member of many Arab and International Confederations. Among these is the International Confederation of Arab Workers, located in Damascus, which encompasses all Arab Labour federations. This Confederation is also a member of the ICFTU. Formerly, the International Confederation of Arab Workers was a member of the World Federation of Trade Unions based in Prague, which disappeared at the end of the Cold War.

The premises of the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions is in its own building in the Shmeisani area, Amman, with no branches in the governorates. The Federation is headed since the elections in 1997 by Mazen al-Ma’ayta who is also the president of the Union of Private Education Employees.

The Mission of the General Federation and its Objectives

The Fourth Labour Conference (1994) ratified the latest constitution of the General Federation of Trade Unions, in which it aims to „realize a better life for workers, improve their living standard, and achieve economic and social

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development, to raise productive efficiency, to support the democratic pursuit and to protect unionising rights and freedoms."

The Federation defines its mission through a large number of general targets including to:

• Contribute to converting society from consumption into a producing society, and invest in national wealth and resources by participating in political and economic decision making

• Strive to guarantee the right to fairly paid and stable work, provide equal opportunities of employment, and exert efforts to counteract and put an end to the problem of unemployment

• Raise efficiency of workers, improve means of production, and develop methods of vocational training

• Enlighten workers and develop union awareness, project the role of workers in serving the public interest, and stress the importance of achieving social justice in building national unity

• Strive to develop social laws and legislation on a continuous basis

• Work to attain solidarity between the various trade unions, between trade unions and their branches, and between trade unions and workers, to promote the co-operative spirit and amicable conflict resolution

• Strengthen national unity through combating any manifestation of discrimination based on ethnicity, sex, colour, or religion

• Maintain the unity of the Jordanian Labour Movement, while respecting freedom of opinion, ideology, and expression, by instituting democracy as a methodology and practice

• Develop and maintain union liberties and rights, supporting these through all legitimate means, and protect public freedoms and human rights

• Strengthen the ties of brotherhood, cooperation and unity among workers of the Arab world to coordinate and mobilize their nationalist and political efforts to serve nationalist causes within the framework of the International Confederation of Arab Labour Trade Unions

• Support nations' rights to self-determination and the non-intervention in the affairs of others.

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In order to achieve these objectives, the constitution specified means among which are:

• Supporting the trade unions financially and morally and instituting practical and regular cooperation with them

• Activating the co-operative movement in the production field and the various social services, relating them with the Labour trade unions

• Encouraging trade unions with closely related professional classifications to form professional unions

• Contributing to national efforts that aim to serve the public interests in accordance with the principles of the constitution and national laws

• Paying attention to Labour culture and information media through the establishment of cultural Labour institutes connected to the union movement, publishing newspapers and magazines, conducting Labour research and studies, and establishing literacy centres, libraries and sports clubs

• Representing Jordanian workers inside and outside the country

• Striving to resolve disputes that arise between the general trade unions and their branches, and making the necessary arrangements for the creation of an environment of harmony and cooperation between them

• Creating a shared Labour solidarity fund to help workers

• Cooperating with regional and international Labour unions and organizations in compliance with patriotic and nationalist objectives.

The Organizational Structure of the General Federation

The General Federation consists of three main organizations:

The General Conference, theoretically the highest authority specialized in formulating Federation policies. The General Conference convenes once every four years as per its charter. In practice however, it convenes less frequently, as will be shown below.

The Central Council, the highest authority within the Federation during the periods between convening conferences. It is supposed to hold its meetings once every three months, but these are irregular and infrequent.

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The Executive Committee, the actual authority of the Federation. It consists of one representative from each trade union, though the actual number of members is less than 17 because the Charter of the Federation defines conditions for the membership of the Executive Committee.

1. The General Conference

The General Conference consists of the total members of the administrative committees of the 17 member trade unions of the Federation, on condition that the representation for each trade union should not exceed 11 members of its administrative committee. Those are considered full members in the General Conference, whereas the rest of the committee members are granted the right of participation in the Conference as observers. According to its constitution, the General Conference has to convene normal sessions once every four years, in October. This occurs following an invitation issued by the Central Council, which has the authority to determine the place and time of convening and the agenda of the Conference. The General Federation has managed to convene four conferences since its foundation in 1954. These have formed important and crucial turning points in the history of the Federation. The First Conference was held in July 1957 with 86 members attending, representing the 16 member trade unions existing at that time. Through that conference, the leadership of the General Federation succeeded in strengthening its leading role in the Labour movement, affirming its national and regional role and encouraging workers to join unions.

The Second Conference was held in August 1966. It formed a new take-off for the development of the Labour union movement in Jordan. The Conference targeted the affirmation of Labour unity, basing their organizational structure on new grounds, enabling them to participate in building the national economy, and confirming their right to share in the benefits of development.

In October 1978 (16 years after the Second Conference) the Third Labour Conference was convened, with the participation of 170 members of the committees of the seventeen trade unions. This Conference was able to adopt a group of recommendations that received a warm welcome from the working class. These recommendations dealt with important issues such as

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the Arab-Israeli conflict and Palestine, applied Labour law, the Constitution of the General Federation, wages and rising living costs, industrial relations, incoming foreign Labour, and organization of the Labour market.

The Fourth and last Conference was convened in October 1994. This dealt with many issues and problems of major concern to Jordanian workers. Given priority among these were unemployment issues and organization of the Labour market, updating of Labour legislation, democratic transformation, and economic challenges and problems, in addition to other issues. The Conference approved the Unified Constitution for Trade Unions and the Constitution of the Federation. The latter now stated that the General Federation is the sole authority in charge of all issues related to the Labour movement. With that, the Ministry of Labour was theoretically removed from interfering in trade union affairs, except for what material support it can provide to the movement. Likewise, the discussions at the Conference contributed to crystallizing the stand of the Labour movement on the new Labour law issued in 1996.

Although the constitution of the Federation states that the General Conference is the highest authority concerned with policymaking, it nevertheless does not have actual authority, particularly with respect to the election of the leadership organizations. Its function is limited only to confirmation of the Central Conference and the Executive Committee. The same applies regarding amending the constitution of the Federation, and accepting new trade unions or dismissing them from membership in the Federation. These functions are considered the domain of the Central Council, and the General Conference has only to approve them.

2. The Central Council

The structure of the Central Council of the Federation is formed of members of the Executive Committee and representatives of the member trade unions, each represented by six members. The trade unions do not hold special elections for their representatives at the Central Council. Rather, the administrative committees nominate these members for a term of four years in the council.

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The Central Council is considered the highest authority in the Federation during the time between convening sessions of the Conference, especially because the period is often prolonged (e.g. the period between the third and fourth Conferences extended to sixteen years). These long periods make clear how extensive the prerogatives of the Central Council are, including the election of the chairman and the vice-chairman of the Central Council, the Secretary General and the deputy of the Federation, and members of the Executive Committee.

The Central Council also enjoys large decision-making authority, including settlement of union disputes, where its decisions are binding on all parties. The council has the right to amend some articles of the basic constitution with the approval of a two-thirds majority. These amendments are valid pending ratification by the Conference. The Council also has the right to withdraw confidence from members whose election falls within the framework of its authority and to elect substitutes.

The Central Council convenes periodically four times a year. It is also allowed to convene in extraordinary session upon the request of the Executive Committee or of one-third of the Central Council members.

The Council has the right to form permanent committees, each of which consists of seven members, to deal with finance, law, culture, mass media, and local, union and foreign relations. These committees submit their opinions and suggestions to the Central Council.

3. The Executive Committee

According to the constitution of the Federation, the Executive Committee is the authority that supervises the course of action of the Federation. It implements the policies endorsed by the Conference and decisions taken by the Central Council. The term of the Executive Committee is four years. The Executive Committee convenes once a month, chaired by the Secretary General of the Federation. The committee’s membership is equivalent to the total number of the general trade unions who are members in the Federation, with representatives of each trade union not to exceed two. A condition for the nomination of a member to the Executive Committee is to have been

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a member of the Administrative Committee of his trade union for no less than four years.

Because of this condition, the last Executive Committee (of 1995-9) was formed of only fifteen members (not seventeen, which is the total number of the trade unions). This of course contradicts the principle of representation of all member unions, but the lack of members who met the four-year criterion obstructed some union representation in the Committee. The current Chairman of the Executive Committee is Mazen al-Ma’ayta, while Fathallah al-Omari occupies the position of Vice-chairman. The Executive Committee has the authority to elect representatives of the Federation to the board of directors of institutions in which the Federation participates or to cancel their membership on these boards. Examples of these institutions are the Social Security Corporation and the Vocational Training Corporation.

The Executive Committee has the right to form a three-member committee to look into violations attributed to any union, branch, or member of their Administrative Committees. It looks into these violations whether they are administrative, financial, or violations of regulations of the Federation or national legislation. The Committee in such a case prepares a report on the violations, including its recommendations, and presents it to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee has the option to reject the report, to take penal measures such as issuing an admonition, or a notice, or to suspend the Administrative Committee of the trade union. The Executive Committee may also call a meeting of the Central Council in order to take an appropriate decision or to suspend the membership of the violator until the violation ceases. In case the member continues with the violation, the appropriate penalty is implemented.

The Executive Committee also has the right to appoint staff according to the financial and administrative regulations of the Federation. It also has the right to assign consultants and experts in specialties required under temporary contracts. It may also approve full-time remuneration for the Secretary General or any member of the Committee or members of the Central Council if the need arises, and determines their monthly payment.

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B. Trade Unions in the Federation

1. The General Union of Construction Workers

Background

This union is considered one of the oldest in Jordan, as it was established in 1954 by unionist Zaki al-Sheikh Yasin, one of the Labour leadership’s pioneers who contributed to the foundation of the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions. This union witnessed many critical events since its establishment, especially during the period when Jordan Cement Factory Company (JCFC) workers started serious action to register their own trade union. These workers faced fierce resistance from the company management, resulting among other things, in dismissal, deportation, and the non-recognition of the trade union. Despite efforts of the leaders of the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions, all attempts failed to end the rejection and resistance of the JCFC management to formation of a union for its workers. This was especially the case after their famous strike of 1969. During the 1970s and most of the 80s, the Construction Workers refrained from attempting to organize Labour in the JCFC or to support their causes, as a union leadership loyal to the authorities was imposed and its term was repeatedly renewed without elections.

The first step in the re-organization of workers in the JCFC was undertaken thanks to unionist Jamal ash-Shamasat, who was able to restore the role of the Union of Construction Workers. Initially, Ali at-Tarawneh and a group of his colleagues succeeded in forming a union committee in Rashadieh Cement Factory in 1987. The committee was later accredited in 1989 after a series of contacts with the president of the trade union in Amman. The leadership of workers in the JCFC, bolstered by this success, pushed ahead to lead the general trade union. Thereafter, elections distinguished the work of this trade union, which had not witnessed any from 1970 until 1989.

The General Union of Construction Workers was the product of two merger processes that took place in 1972 and 1976. This union arose from the remains of five others: the Union of Construction Workers, Tile and Mosaic, Mines, the Public Sector, and Cement Factories.

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Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in the Union

The Union accepts as members Labourers and staff in the following industrial, professional and craft sectors:

• Construction and maintenance of buildings, dams, tunnels, bridges, etc

• Construction and pavement of roads and streets

• Manufacture of bricks, tiles, marble, and mosaic of different types

• Stone cutting, grinding and carving

• Manufacture of porcelain, ceramics, and pottery

• Manufacture of products of marble and granite

• Manufacture of building materials including cement and other

• Cutting and sawing of timber, manufacture of windows, doors, building tools, and equipment

• Manufacture of cement and all work related to its production process

• Manufacture of cork and its products

• Construction activity including metalworking, carpentry, and other

• Organizations, institutions and companies supervising these activities.

The Organizational Structure of the Union

The General Assembly of this union includes 2500 members in three branches:

• Fuheis, including about 1,200 members, workers in the JCFC, Fuheis

• Al-Rashadieh, including about 900 members, workers in the JCFC in Rashadieh/Tafileh

• Ceramics, including about 60 members, workers in the Jordan Ceramic Company/Zarqa.

It is important to note that there was a fourth branch of the trade union in Amman. It included members from various institutions and no longer exists, although it historically represented the main pillar of this trade union.

Each branch has an Administrative Committee. The branches elect the 13 members of the Administrative Committee of the Union in every four years. Mahmoud al-Hiyari currently heads the union (1998-2001). Jamal ash-Shamasat also represents it in the Executive Committee of the Federation.

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The Union’s Membership in Arab and International Confederations

The union is a member of the Arab Vocational Confederation of Workers in Construction, Timber and Manufacture of Building Material, the International Confederation of Arab Workers and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFT).

2. The General Union of Petroleum and Chemicals Employees

Background

This union was established in 1963 under the leadership of Shareef al-Mughrabi, and played an important role in the Union Movement. Thereafter, Mahmoud Subieha took over its leadership. He is considered one of the important union personalities, and participated in the leadership of the International Confederation of Arab Workers in Petroleum. Under his leadership, the union was transformed into one of the strongest and most active Jordanian trade unions. Subieha was behind the most important and prominent Labour strike led by this trade union, which took place in 1969, acquiring great gains for the workers. Many who have led it rose from the ranks of the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company, still one of the most important Labour bases for this trade union.

Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in this Union

This union includes members of the following sectors and fields:

• Petroleum and natural gas exploitation, work related to petroleum refining and distillation, operations related to petroleum transport, sale, and sale of its products

• Extraction of liquefied gases, pressurization, and bottling

• Extraction of acids, alkalis, salts, explosives, paints, and dyes

• Production of chemical, organic, and other fertilizers

• Oil and fats not used in nutrition

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• Medical, beauty, and aromatic products

• Manufacture of matches

• Tanning of skin and fur, and treatment of leather

• Manufacture of rubber products

• Glass and mirrors (excluding medical spectacles)

• Liquid and dry batteries

• Organizations, institutions and firms supervising the previous activities

The Organizational Structure of this Union

The General Assembly of this union currently includes 3,647 members, in four branches:

• Petroleum Refinery Branch/Zarqa, which includes 2,277 members

• Production Company Branch/Ruseifah, which includes 750 members

• The Tannery Company Branch/Ruseifah, which includes an estimated 400 members

• Plastic and Chemical Industry Branch, which includes 22 members.

These branches are directed by their own Administrative Committees that elect the Administration Committee of the general trade union, composed of 14 members, every four years. The head of this trade union for the current term (1998-2001) is Khaled az-Zayoud of the Petroleum Refinery Branch.

The representative of this union in the Executive Committee of the General Federation is Ahmed Salameh as-Sa’ad, who is treasurer of the General Federation. He is also the Secretary and head of the production division in this union, which has eight representatives in the Central Council of the Federation.

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Union Membership in International and Arab Federations

This trade union is a member of the International Federation of Arab Petroleum Workers.

3. General Trade Union of Municipality Employees

Background

This trade union was established in 1954. Initially, it was named the Trade Union of workers in Public Institutions, Municipalities, and Commercial Stores. It also adopted the name Trade Union for Workers and Employees of the Capital Municipality. Following the first merger process of trade unions in the 1960s it became the General Trade Union of Workers in Municipalities and reregistered under this name in 1965. Mohammad Johar was one of the most prominent leaders of this trade union in 1964-1971. He managed in that time to play important roles in strengthening the union through the gains and guarantees granted to its members or through the role the union played within the General Federation of Trade Unions. He also chaired the General Federation of Trade Unions for a long period (1964-1971).

Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in the Union

This union includes in its membership workers in Amman and other municipalities, the Water and Sewage Authority, and councils of municipalities and villages. Due to the nature of these institutions, union membership came to include many employees of the government as well as private organizations.

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The Organizational Structure of this Union

This union has two levels: the Administrative Committee and the General Assembly. The Administrative Committee includes nine members, elected once every four years by the General Assembly. That includes all union members, estimated at 1,500, but there is no data available on the sectoral distribution of members and whether the union includes members from other municipalities outside Amman.

Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

This trade union is a member of the International Arab Federation of Workers in Municipalities and the International Confederation of Public Services Trade Unions.

4. The General Union of Private Education Employees

Background

This union was registered by a court decision in 1969 through an initiative of veteran unionist Mohammed Suleiman al-Qaimari after the government denied its registration. The union played important roles in the fields of public trade union work under his leadership. It achieved many accomplishments and gains for workers in private education institutions. Through trade union action, the 1970s and 80s witnessed a series of strikes in the private education sector, which ended in signing collective agreements with private school owners. Hence, the union became the representative of workers in schools and private education institutions.

Since its establishment, Mohammed al-Qaimari, Nabhan Khalifeh, Ibrahim an-Najjar, and Ghaleb Sonjok have led the union. The chairman of its Administrative Committee for 1998-2001 is Mazen al-Ma’ayta, who has presided over the union since 1990 (and has been secretary general of the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions since 1998.)

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Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in this Trade Union

This union includes as members all workers in private schools and colleges.

Organizational Structure of the Union

The organizational structure of this union includes two levels only, the Administrative Committee and the General Assembly. The Administrative Committee is formed of nine members elected by the General Assembly. The current chairman is Mazen al-Ma’ayta. The General Assembly is comprised of about 1,850 members. Six members represent this union on the Central Council.

Trade Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

This union is a member of the Arab Federation of Private Education and Scientific Research Workers.

5. The General Union of Public Services and Free Professions Employees

Background

This union was established in 1954 when workers in public service faced harsh conditions before the issuing of the Labour law. Restaurant, coffee shop, and hotel employees suffered the exploitative employment conditions of bakery workers. Hours on the job were more than fourteen, under inhuman conditions.

Abdulkarim Salameh, of the town of Salt, who was working at the Amman Club, which at the time included elite political leaders, managed to register the Trade Union of Workers and Employees of Restaurants, Coffee shops and Hotels in 1954. Salameh did so with support from unionist Zaki ash-

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Sheikh Yasin. The union was reregistered after the re-organization of the trade unions in 1976 and has carried its present name ever since. The head of the union then was Suleiman Mustafa al-Shueibi who did not last long and abandoned union activity by 1978. Khaled Abukhurma took over the leadership of the union, and played a leading role in the General Federation of Trade Unions before he joined the Arab Labour Organization in 1993. Ahmed al-Khodary and Basimah al-Orany, then successively took over union leadership. The latter was the first female unionist to head the administrative committee of a trade union. She succeeded in realizing important Labour gains for the employees of many service institutions, with many collective agreements signed under her leadership.

Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in this Union

This union includes in its membership workers in:

• Cinemas, theatres and other places of entertainment

• Restaurants, coffee shops, and hotels

• Social services workers in charitable, co-operative, and other societies

• Business services, private management and independent professions

• Hairdressing and beauty salons

• Washing, cleaning, ironing, dying, and repairing of clothes

• Societies, institutions and companies supervising the above.

The Organizational Structure of the Trade Union

The structure of this trade union is limited to the Administrative Committee and the General Assembly. The current Administrative Committee includes eight members, chaired by Abdurrahman Aboud al-Jada', who took over after Basimah al-Orany left the country. The eight members were elected by the General Assembly, the total number of which was 1,156 in 1997.

Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

This trade union is a member of the Arab Confederation of Trade Unions of Telegraph, Post, and Telephone workers.

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6. The General Union of Health Services Employees

Background

This union was first recognized in 1962 as the Trade Union of Pharmacies and Medical Supply Stores Employees. The initiative to register the trade union is attributed to Ahmad Ajweh who was a Syrian Arab Nationalist activist. He succeeded in engaging many leaders and employees of medical supply stores and pharmacist’s assistants. He also had a strong relationship with the then Prime minister Wasfi at-Tal. The first Administrative Committee of this union for the term 1962-4 was formed of Ahmad Ajweh, Hussein ad-Dahleh, Fawwaz as-Sukkar, Natheer Sawalhah, Othman Ismail, Joudeh Othman, Bade’ Halateh and Andrea Halateh, who came from various political and professional backgrounds.

The election for the 1964-68 term re-installed the same founding leaders, while the following elections for 1968-70 brought in a broad alliance of leftist and Arab nationalist bodies, as well as Fateh and Popular Front representatives to its leadership.

The 1971-72 elections were characterized by the prominence of the Communist Party role in bearing the responsibility of leading the trade union under critical circumstances. The left maintained the leadership of the union in the election for the 1998-2001 term. Its most prominent leaders were Salem Hijazi, Issa Khashan, Jibreel Jaber, Ibrahim al-Awamleh, and Wajeeh Abuorabie.

The latest election, for the 1998-2001 term, was a coup that expelled the left from leadership of the union for a new formation headed by Ahmad Saleh Abuseelah. This included Khawlah Hamdan, Tahseen Abulizz, Mohammed Ghanem, Nidal Abusoboh, Ra’ed Abulawi, Yaser al-Tareefy, Rafe’ al-Abbady, Abdelhalim al-Ali, Tayseer Dakhlallah, Khalil Shudeifat, Subhy Adeeb and Abdulrahman Abusaqer.

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Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in the Union

This trade union includes in its membership workers in:

• Hospitals

• Pharmacies and medical supply stores

• Societies and institutions supervising the above.

The Organizational Structure of the Union

The trade union is comprised of the Administrative Committee and the General Assembly. The Administrative Committee includes 13 members, chaired by Mohammad Ahmad Ghanem, all elected by the General Assembly. The total membership of the assembly is 4,600, out of which 1300 are women (28.3 %).

Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

The union is a member of the Confederation of Arab Health Workers and the International Confederation of Public Services Trade Unions.

7. The General Union of Railway Employees

Background

The year 1946 witnessed the establishment of the first union for railway workers in Jordan, a branch of the Trade Union of Haifa Railway Workers. Workers and employees of Amman Railway (Hijaz Railway) launched the first attempt to create a trade union organization, which did not last more than six months due to the lack of the necessary union expertise and awareness. Trade union sources indicate that this union was registered twice after that, first in 1955, then in 1962. Tayseer Saleem al-Khammash chaired the first union, which was characterized during this period by its engagement in public nationalist activity and interaction with other political and social movements.

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The union was dissolved after that (1957-8) because of its support to the radical opposition. The second stage was one during which the trade union was officially registered after a series of strikes organized by railway workers. The strikes resulted in an interview with the then Prime minister, Wasfi at-Tal, who showed understanding of workers' demands. This motivated them to register the trade union in 1962. Shaher al-Majali chaired the first administrative committee of the trade union. Soon after that, he played a prominent role in leading the General Federation of Trade Unions in 1972-82. After him, Fawzi Doso, an experienced unionist, took over the leadership from 1984.

Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in this Union

The union includes workers in

• Driving, maintenance, and service of trains

• Repair and maintenance of vehicles, and other work related to rail transport

• Societies, institutions and companies supervising the above.

The Organizational Structure of the Union

This union has two branches, one in Amman and the other in Ma’an. An administrative committee that includes nine members elected by the General Assembly, numbering 1,505, leads the union.

8. The General Union of Food Industry Employees

Background

This union, registered in 1976, was established in two merging processes of four trade unions in 1972 and 1976. The four were launched in the early 1950s and had formed the nucleus of the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions established in 1954. These unions are:

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• The Trade Union of Arab Orient Tobacco Company Workers, which was the first Labour union registered in Jordan (1953) and led by Wajeeh Mohammad Manko.

• The Trade Union of Bakery Workers, registered in 1954 under Omar Zakariah who led the first strike of bakery workers in 1955.

• The Public Institutions Trade Union registered in 1954 under Mustafa Askalan. Its name changed after the first merger of trade unions in 1972 to become the Light Industries Trade Union. It was merged again in 1976, under the name Trade Union of Commercial Stores.

• The fourth was a result of dismantling the Trade Union of Municipality, Institution, and Commercial Store Workers, which had been registered in 1954. Part of the workers of this trade union joined the General Trade Union of Food Industry Employees.

Thus, the background of this union encapsulates the Labour movement during the 1950s and 1960s and the first generation of leaders of this movement.

After the second merger in 1976, Jawdat Othman, Yousef Othman, Mohammad Sameeh Ismail, Hasan Awwad, and Ahmad Abukhadra succeeded each other in leading the trade union. The roots of these men were in the leadership of the Trade Unions of Tobacco, Bakeries, and Mills, which became trade union branches under the names Tobacco Company Branch, Food Branch, Dairy Branch, etc. The union’s leading role in many demands-oriented moves during the 1970s and 80s distinguished this trade union. It generated many Labour leaders, who later occupied several leading positions in the Central Council and the Executive Committees of the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions.

The leaders of this union represented an important part of the National Union Alliance, independent of the authorities and reflecting the opposing middle current of the Labour movement.

Closeness to the Palestinian Fateh Movement of unions forming the General Trade Union of Food Industries during the presence of the Palestinian Resistance in Jordan was probably behind frequent merging and dismantling of these unions during the early and mid-70s.

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Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in this Union

This union includes in its membership workers in

• Preparation and preservation of meat, poultry and fish, including slaughtering, salting and manufacturing operations

• The dairy industry etc

• Packing, preservation, sale, and marketing of fruits, vegetables, and their products and milling of grains and beans, and their preparation.

• Bread industry and other products made of wheat

• Sugar industry, refining and sugar products

• Sweets industry of all types, including chocolate and cocoa

• Non-alcoholic beverage industry, including soda, mineral, ice and soft beverages

• Alcoholic beverage industry, including distillation, filtering, mixing, yeast production, and alcohol industry including vinegar and carbon dioxide

• Extraction of plant oils and animal feed production including all plant oil products used in food

• Tobacco and cigarette industry and similar industries and their derivatives

• Societies, institutions and companies supervising the above.

The Organizational Structure of this Union

This trade union has an estimated 7,000 members and is currently composed of two main branches: the Food Branch led by an administrative committee of nine members, headed by Ahmad Abukhadra, and the Tobacco and Derivatives Branch also led by a committee of nine, chaired by Hasan Awwad Mustafa.

An administrative committee comprised of ten members, headed by Hasan Awwad leads the union. At the same time, Ahmad Abukhadra represents this union on the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions and occupies the position of the Culture and Information Secretary of the General Federation. The trade union has six representatives on the Central Council of the Federation.

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Trade Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

The union is a member of the Arab Confederation of Food Industries.

9. The General Trade Union of Printing, Photography and
Paper Employees

Background

The roots of this trade union date back to 1954, when an owner of a printing press undertook the initiative to register a union for printing press workers. He had leftist leanings and was an intellectual. It was rumoured that he used to print political opposition manifestos in his press.

In the early stages, Edmond Assal, Mousa Abduljaber, Jameel Jalajel, Issa al-Jaloudi, Mahmoud al-Kilani, and Abdulqader al-Bakry succeeded each other in the leadership of this trade union. At the end of the 1950s the trade union established the Co-operative Association of Printing Press Workers, which still exists as the sole co-operative Labour association in Jordan.

In 1976, the name of the Trade Union of Printing Press was changed to its current one, the General Trade Union of Printing, Photography and Paper Employees. It consists of three main committees: printing and photography, workers in the Fine Company for Hygienic Paper, and workers of the Paper and Carton Factory.

The union is still based on the principles on which it was re-organized in 1976.

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Professions, Crafts and Industries Included in this Union

This trade union includes in its membership workers in:

• Printing and publishing

• Paper, carton and hygienic paper factories

• Photography, television recording and other

• Societies, institutions and companies supervising the above.

Organizational Structure of this Trade Union

The General Assembly of the union includes 2,100 members. Each branch has its own committee, while an administrative committee comprised of 10 members chaired by Mohammed Hasan Khalil leads the union. Khalil represents the trade union on the Executive Committee of the Federation.

Trade Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

This trade union is a member of the Arab Federation of Workers in Culture, Education, and Printing, the International Confederation of Arab Workers, and the International Free Confederation of Trade Unions.

10. General Trade Union of Textile Industry

Background

This was established in 1954 as a union of sewing workers, consequent to a meeting among some of them in response to a call from the Construction Trade Union, in which it encouraged workers to organize trade unions. The Construction Union placed its headquarters at their disposal for their activities. Forty-five workers signed the registration application, led by Mousa Qwaider and Sami al-Kharoof who established the Co-operative Association of Sewing Workers two years later.

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Wasef al-Johary headed the first Administrative Committee of the trade union after its registration in 1954. Later, the trade union was influenced by developments in the spinning and textile industry. Thus, it was named the Trade Union of Textile and Clothing Workers then the General Trade Union of Workers in Spinning, Textiles, and Clothing, till it settled on its current name in 1976.

The union has been characterized since its establishment and till today by its leftist tendencies. Mousa Qwaider led it until 1982 after which Fathallah al-Omrani, the current leader of this trade union, succeeded. The trade union was famous for organizing a series of Labour strikes and leading victorious demands-oriented struggles in the 1970s and 80s.

Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in this Union

The union includes in its membership workers in:

• Spinning and weaving of natural and industrial yarns, their preparation, and gathering of related preparatory information

• Manufacturing and preparation of yarns and textiles, and all operations related to their preparation including drawing and ornamentation

• Weaving blankets, carpets, and rugs

• Tricot, needlework etc

• Manufacturing of rope, burlap, felt, and oilcloth not made of rubber

• Ginning and compressing of cotton

• Societies, institutions and companies supervising the above.

Organizational Structure of this Union

The union includes 987 members, according to 1997 statistics, who represent the General Assembly of the trade union. An administrative committee of nine members leads the union, headed by Fathallah al-Omrani. He represents the trade union on the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions and occupies the position of Assistant Secretary General.

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Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

The union is a member of the Arab Federation of Spinning and Weaving. This union currently heads this federation, which includes 12 Arab Labour organizations. The union is also a member of the International Federation of Spinning and Weaving.

11. The General Trade Union of Electricity Employees

Background

The establishment of the Trade Union of Electricity Employees dates back to 1960. The initiative was Izzat Yahya's, an ordinary worker in the Electricity Company with whom the management had refused to negotiate.

Unlike other trade unions with organized political forces behind their foundation, the Trade Union of Electricity Employees was the result of an individual initiative by Izzat Yahya. He had started preparing the union by visiting the Labour Inspector of the Ministry of Social Affairs who was convinced of the justice of demanding the establishment of a trade union for electricity workers. He put Yahya in touch with the head of the Trade Union of Drivers, Sami Hasan Mansour, in order to provide a meeting place for the electricity workers. Izzat also received support from a leftist lawyer, Mohammed Ayyash Melhem, who prepared the constitution of the union. Thus, the trade union managed to convene its first session by end-1960, when it accepted 163 electricity workers as members. It also changed its name to the Union of Employees and Workers of Electricity in Jordan.

After the first demands-oriented action of the trade union in 1961, the Electricity Company fired Izzat Yahya, thus depriving him of his union function. However, the General Assembly of the union renewed confidence in him, and he continued to head it until March 1964. Afterwards, Waleed al-Khayyat replaced him and led the Trade Union of Electricity Workers for several terms (1964-1970). Al-Khayyat was also a member of the Executive

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Committee of the General Federation of the Trade Unions for two consecutive terms. Nevertheless, he refused to join the Temporary Executive Committee assigned by the government to lead the General Federation following the September 1970 events, and called for the cessation of government interference in the unions. However, he re-entered the trade union elections for 1972-73 and won. In August 1973, he resigned from the leadership of the Federation in response to the authorities' interference, under the pressure of which his membership in the Trade Union of Electricity was frozen until the early 1990s.

During this period, Mohammad Hussein Odeh, Sabri Madi, Mohammad as-Sayed, and Ali Bani-Hani successively led the union. The latter headed the branch in north Jordan. Sameer Qardan led this union for eight years (1982-1990). These individuals also played important roles in leading assemblies of the General Federation of the Trade Unions.

During the General Assembly session of the Trade Union of Electricity Workers on in February 1990, Waleed al-Khayyat was re-installed as leader of the union. He participated in the membership of the Executive Office of the General Federation for 1990-92. However, he lost his position in the August 1998 election, which carried Khalifeh al-Ma’ayta to the leadership of the trade union, which he still heads in the present term (1998-2001).

Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in the Union

The union membership includes workers in:

• Production and distribution of light, electricity and electrical power

• Manufacture and maintenance of electrical appliances, tools and equipment

Organizational Structure of This Union

The General Assembly of the union is comprised of 3,742 members distributed between two branches, in Amman and Irbid. Two administrative committees lead the branches, the first comprised of nine members, and the second of twelve. The Administrative Committee of the General Trade

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Union includes ten members headed by Khalifeh al-Ma’ayta, president of the General Trade Union. Abdulmahdi al-Omari represents it on the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions.

Trade Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

This trade union is a member of the International Confederation of Public Services and the International Islamic Labour Federation.

12. The General Trade Union of the Employees of Banks, Insurance, and Auditing

Background:

This union is considered to be one of the most active in Jordan. It has the strongest record of concluding collective agreements in favour of the employees of this sector. It is also the most vital politically and culturally among the trade unions.

Some union sources refer the date of registration of this trade union back to end-1954, when it was confronted with fierce resistance from the management of the few banks in Jordan then. The trade union was terminated with the stormy political incidents that Jordan witnessed in 1957.

Some Jordanian bank employees revived the union in May 1961, formed a committee among themselves, and submitted an application to the Trade Union Registrar. Nevertheless, the State Security Council refused the application, obliging the founders to resort to the Supreme Court to revoke the decision. The Supreme Court did so, and the union was registered. This opened door for many trade unions awaiting registration.

Mohammad Malhas, who reregistered the trade union, led its first Administrative Committees. During 1964-70, the leadership was transferred to

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activists from the Ba'ath Party, the Communist Party, the Fateh Movement and others.

The status of the union was affected by the September 1970 confrontations, so that it no longer existed. However, trade union activists from varied opposition forces revived the union in 1972, and formed a preparatory committee to hold new elections. The General Assembly of the trade union convened in March 1974 and elected its first Administrative Committee. Despite the authorities’ insistence on the expulsion of some political activists, it has included a variety of individuals of different political backgrounds.

During the second half of the 80s and throughout the 1990s, political conflicts and the splitting of leftist parties led to the weakening of the broad coalition in the trade union. Nevertheless, it maintained its leftist character, and continued to play an active role in its demands-oriented struggles and in general union matters till today. Haidar Rasheed is considered the most prominent leader of this trade union, as he managed to guide it through the crises and splits that hit the Communist Party and the other leftist forces. He is currently the chairman of this union and represents it on the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions. At the same time, Haidar Rasheed is in charge of the International Relations Secretariat of the Executive Committee of the General Federation.

Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in this Trade Union

This union includes in its membership workers in the following fields:

• Commercial banks of all types and their agencies and related firms

• Stock market business, money exchange offices etc

• Societies and institutions supervising the above.

Organizational Structure of the Trade Union:

This trade union includes 4,715 members. This union does not currently have any branches, only committees. The Administrative Committee consists of 13 members and supervises the operations of committees.

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Trade Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

The Union is a member of the Arab Federation of Bank and Auditing Employees.

13. The General Trade Union of Mines and Mining Employees

Background

This trade union was established in 1954, under the name Union of Phosphate Mines Workers. It persisted until 1960, facing the tyranny of the company management and the negative attitude (not to say hostility) of the government towards union activity.

In 1961, attempts were made by some union activists of the Phosphate Mines to revive this trade union. Shortly thereafter, those activists started working under the banner of the Trade Union of Construction, Quarry, and Mine workers, under which Khaled Shraim and Nimr Mesleh formed in 1968 a special union committee for workers in the Phosphate Mines. This committee soon evolved into a union exclusively for Phosphate Mines workers in 1970.

After the September 1970 events and ensuing trade union re-organization measures, the trade union bore the name Trade Union of Jordan Phosphate Mines Company Workers and Employees. Soon thereafter, the trade union opened branches for itself in the inaugurated Mines of al-Hasa, al-Abyad, and Ishidiya in south Jordan. Likewise, another branch was established for the workers of the Chemical Fertilizers Factories in Aqaba, in the early 80s.

Khaled Shraim has led the trade union since 1970 and stood at its helm until recently. He represented the union on the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions before becoming the Secretary General of the General Federation in 1992-8.

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Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in this Trade Union

The trade union includes workers in the following sectors:

• Mining coal and non-metallic raw materials like gypsum, salt, and sulfur

• Mining and manufacturing of phosphates, and all other operations related to its transport and shipping

• Metallurgy, iron, and canning industry

• Nail, barbed wire and metallic sheet manufacture

• Tin manufacture/empty containers

• Societies, institutions and companies supervising the above.

The Organizational Structure of the Trade Union

The General Assembly of the trade union includes 6500 members in five branches: Aqaba, Ishidiya, al-Hasa, al-Abyad, and Amman.

An expanded administrative committee comprised of 26 members representing the various branches leads the union. Khaled Shraim represents it on the Executive Committee of the Federation.

Trade Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

The trade union is a member of the Arab Confederation for Metallic Industries and the International Confederation of Arab Workers.

14. The General Trade Union of Commercial Stores Employees

Background

This came into existence in 1976 as a result of the merging of many trade unions and branches whose roots date back to 1954, including the Union of

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Shoe Manufacturing Workers, the Union of Carpentry Workers, and the Union of Cloth and Boutique Employees (1963). Before this trade union appeared, unions that formed it by compulsory merger had led to the appearance of the Trade Union of Light Industries in September 1971. This came about as a result of unifying some union committees active in cinemas and boutiques with the Trade Union of Public Institutions.

After the issuing of the Ministry of Labour decision to re-organize the trade unions in 1976, a new historical phase commenced in the Labour movement. In this phase, the trade unions existing on craft basis or those that include workers of small industrial institutions were melted together in a unified trade union. The original trade unions were converted to special union committees for homogeneous crafts and professions. Mohammad Hussein Qasem and Jameel Abdurraheem have succeeded each other in the leadership of this trade union since 1976. The latter represents the trade union on the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions, where he performs the function of Arab Relations Secretary. Mahmoud al-Sarahneh currently presides over this union.

Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in the Union:

• The union membership includes workers in:

• Commercial stores of all types

• Manufacture of clothing and fashion design

• Manufacture of furniture, and home and office appliances

• Libraries

• Manufacture of chinaware, ceramics, and pottery

• Shoe and all other leather product manufacture

• Societies, institutions and companies supervising the above.

Organizational Structure of the Trade Union

The General Assembly of the union includes 2,812 members, distributed among four sectors led by union committees of workers in commercial stores, manufacture of clothing, manufacture of furniture, home and office appliances, and shoes.

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An administrative committee of nine members leads the union. Jameel Abdurraheem, the Secretary of this trade union, represents it on the Executive Committee of the General Federation.

Trade Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

Information is not available.

15. The General Trade Union of Ports and Clearance Employees

Background

The roots of this trade union date back, according to some sources, to 1956, when some of its founders were working within the framework of the Trade Union of Workers and Employees of Public Institutions. Out of the latter, they rose to found the Trade Union of Workers and Employees of Clearance. Saleem Jado'on led it for a long time (1958-1980). He became the Secretary General of the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions in 1973-78. This period was marked by sharp conflicts between the opposition Labour leadership and government authorities.

Since the early 80s, new leaders have succeeded each other in the leadership of the trade union. Abdulsalam al-Ghazwi, Hani Aziz and Sedqi al-Fuqaha'a are the most prominent among them.

The union was limited to two branches in Amman and Aqaba until a third was founded in Ramtha in 1981. Ahmad al-Hayajneh of Ramtha branch currently leads this trade union.

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Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in the Union

This trade union includes members belonging to the following sectors:

• Marine transport, commercial or private

• Maintenance and management of ports and lighthouses

• Loading, unloading, clearance and all similar sea operations

• Maintenance and repair of means of sea transport

• Societies, institutions, and companies supervising the above.

The organizational Structure of this Union

The total number of members of the General Assembly of the union is 6,500, in three branches located in Amman, Ramtha, and Aqaba. An Administrative Committee leads each branch, while one comprised of nine members leads the general trade union, headed by Mohammad al-Hayajneh. Hosni Abuanquod represents the union on the Executive Committee of the Federation.

Trade Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

The union is a member of the International Confederation of Public Services Trade Unions.

16. The General Trade Union of Air Transport and Tourism Employees

Background

The establishment of this trade union dates back to 1969 with the formation of a temporary administrative committee for the Trade Union of Tourism and Aviation Companies, which included many employees of Royal Jordanian Airlines. The union was registered in July 1970 and was accepted as a

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member in the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions at the beginning of 1971. Ahed Qonttar led the trade union during its early stages (1972-76). Soon after he was elected Secretary General of the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions for the 1974-6 term. He was successful in adopting an independent and balanced stance towards the hot conflicts between the authorities and opposition union forces. He also resisted the merger by the government of the trade unions, launched in 1976. Soon thereafter, he was detained and banished from the lines of the Labour movement.

The leadership of the trade union was transferred since 1976 to Abdelhalim Khaddam, who remained its head until 1977. During this period he ascended to the Executive Committee of the Federation, then became the Chairman of the Central Council of the Federation, but failed in the latest elections to return to the top of the trade union.

This trade union was unique because of the arrival of the first woman, Su'ad Bakeer, to the leadership of the trade union during the 1992-94 term. However, she withdrew in favour of Abdelhalim Khaddam, who returned to lead the trade union until 1997. The course of this trade union during the last three decades has been marked by its success in acquiring important gains for workers in the air transport sector, most prominently, the building of their own housing complex.

Professions, Crafts and Industries Included in the Union

The trade union includes in its membership the workers in:

• Air transport

• Maintenance and management of airports including facilitating navigation and aviation such as radar and wireless

• Travel and tourism agencies, operating in air transport of passengers and merchandise

• Civil aviation

• Air transport maintenance and repair

• Training of pilots and aviation workers

• Societies, institutions and companies supervising the above.

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The organizational Structure of this Trade Union

The General Assembly of the trade union includes 3,700 members. It has no branches and is led by an administrative committee of 13 members. The chairman is Khalil Heyasat. Mohammad al-Majali represents the trade union on the Executive Committee of the Federation.

Trade Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

The union is a member of the Arab Transport Federation, Secretariat of Arab Air Transport, and the International Transport Federation.

17. The General Trade Union of Land Transport Employees and Mechanics

Background

This union appeared officially in 1973 as a result of a merger between three trade unions for workers in means of transport under the leadership of Sami Hasan Mansour (a veteran unionist who played a pivotal role in leading the Labour movement during the 1970s and early 80s) together with Shaher al-Majali, Head of the Railway Trade Union.

Before the 1967 war and the occupation of the West Bank by Israel, there were in Jordan six trade unions for workers in land transport and mechanics. The establishment of many of these dates back to the end of the 1940s or to the first half of the 1950s. The Trade Union of Automobile Drivers and Workers had been established in 1954 under the leadership of Sami Hasan Mansour. It had branches in Amman, Jerusalem, Hebron, and Irbid. This Trade union remained outside the umbrella of the General Federation of Labour Trade Unions until 1970, since it had followed a course opposing the leftist and the nationalist currents prevalent in the Federation. It formed an axis with the Railways Trade Union (Shaher al-Majali) and the Petro-

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leum Refinery Trade Union (Ibrahim Hadia). That axis established its relations with the Free Confederation in Brussels.

After the re-organization process of the Labour trade unions in 1976, the influence of the Trade Union of Land Transport grew immensely due to the falsified inflation of this union membership. This inflation was due to the Traffic Department obliging drivers to pay trade union affiliation fees when acquiring or renewing driver licenses. This in turn led to augmentation of its financial resources.

Due to the artificial numerical variance between this trade union and the others, it enjoyed a large number of representatives on the Central Council. At the same time, it was part of the effort to move the Labour movement under the authorities’ influence. The also involved a number of other Trade unions (especially Railways, Air Transport, Ports, Construction, and Municipalities).

The leadership of Land Transport and other trade unions allied with it provided the cover for amendment of the constitution of the General Federation in 1972, or for merging trade unions together and the banishment of Labour leaderships unwelcome to the authorities. These unions also adopted plans to remove the organized leftist, Arab nationalist and other nationalist forces from the institutions of the General Federation in co-ordination with security apparatuses and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour.

Due to its financial resources and government support, this trade union built Labour clinics and institutions for Labour culture under its management. Sami Hasan Mansour, the leader of this trade union, succeeded in some accomplishments such as the building of al-Hussein Hospital in Aqaba. He was also behind convincing the government to recognize May 1 as an official holiday and to celebrate it as Labour Day since 1971.

The influential power of the Trade Union of Land Transport received an unexpected blow from the rest of the trade unions. In 1978, the Third Labour Conference decided to place a ceiling on the representation of each trade union on the Central Council of the General Federation. This was six members regardless of how large total membership of a trade union may be.

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Sami Hasan Mansour, after holding the leadership of this trade union with an iron fist for thirty-four years, was removed in 1988, when illness ended his ability to work. Thus, the leadership of the Land Transport Trade Union transferred to his deputy Mohammad Faleh Herzallah, then to Abdullah al-Mobaydeen, then to Mohammad Ahmed Abdulqader.

In May 1992, the Trade Union of Land Transport/Amman Branch witnessed the first competitive elections (previously, the Administrative Committee of this union and others used to re-elect themselves). The yearning for elections expressed itself clearly through 61 competitors nominating themselves for the 15 seats of the Administration Committee.

After a period of conflict between competing blocs during the first half of the 1990s, the leadership was settled in favour of the independent nationalist bloc lead by Ibrahim al-Qaisi and Mahmoud al-Ma’ayta. This bloc has won leadership elections of this trade union for 2 consecutive terms, (1994-8), and (1998-2001).

Professions, Crafts, and Industries Included in the Union

The union membership includes workers in:

• Transport of passengers and merchandise, by shared cars and vehicles

• Manufacture, maintenance, and repair of land transport means, mechanical agricultural machines, and heavy machinery

• Tourism and travel agencies working in land transport

• Driver training

• Societies, institutions and companies supervising the above.

The organizational Structure of this Trade Union

The General Assembly of the trade union includes about 175,000 registered members. However, the number participating in elections does not perhaps exceed 10% of this figure. Through the passing of the new traffic law, cancelling the compulsory fees of trade union affiliation, the number of members is expected to retreat. The union will then take on its normal size and become limited to those who wish to join on a voluntary fashion.

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The union is composed of seven branches: Amman, Irbid, Zarqa, Karak, Ma'an, Aqaba and Mafraq. Each branch has its own administrative committee, while an administrative committee comprised of 12 members headed by Mahmoud al-Ma’ayta manages the General Trade Union; he also represents the trade union on the Executive Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions.

Trade Union Membership in Arab and International Confederations

The union is a member of the Arab Confederation for Transport Workers and the International Confederation of Transport Workers.

C. The Status of the Labour Movement

Members of the General Federation are characterized by sharp differences with respect to size, nature of organizational structure, public interaction, or role in organizing demands-oriented struggles, in addition to their varied historical background.

• Concerning size, the difference appears radically when comparing the Union of Land Transport, whose membership has reached 175,000, to the Railway Workers, whose membership is around 1,500 (see Table 3)

• Internally, a simple organizational structure characterizes 8 trade unions (a little less than half the total). Their structures are limited to a general assembly, which directly elects its administrative committee, as they do not have branches, and mostly do not have other committees. In addition, the general assembly does not play any role apart from electing the administrative committee every four years, if indeed called to hold the election. On the other side, nine trade unions are characterized by a more compound structure. They include branches numbering from seven (as is the situation with the Trade Union of Land Transport), to two or three, as is the case of most of the other trade unions. Noticeably, there is a correlation between membership size and the existence of a multi-

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branched trade union structure. Large unions are mostly multi-branched, as is the case with Land Transport, Mining and Mines, Seaport and Clearance, and Petrochemicals (see also Table 2).

• The connection between the trade unions and the sectors they represent fluctuates between idleness and high interactivity, which reflects on their role of leading demands-oriented struggles, cultural activities and training. Trade unions tied to high worker concentration in large and modern institutions are mostly capable of organizing successful demands-oriented struggles, while those based in Labour sectors scattered in large numbers of medium and small institutions are less capable of organizing demands-oriented struggles. For example, the following, tied to large modern institutions with Labour concentration, are considered actively connected with employees: Bank Employees, Electricity Workers, Food Industries, Petrochemicals, Mining and Mines, and Textiles. Unions, connected to industries and services based on small and medium sized institutions are considered less interactive, as is the case of General Services and Free Professions, Private Education and Commercial Stores.

• Likewise, there is a strong correlation between the interactivity of trade unions and the political background of the influential bodies therein. Thus, trade unions founded by politicised unions were usually more active in organizing demands-oriented struggles and playing a role in public. Those founded or dominated by apolitical leaderships tend to distance their organizations from political activities and mostly seek to resolve conflicts with employers through direct negotiation without resort to threats to strike.

The unions of Banks, Textile, Electricity, Health Services, and Food Industries are considered to have an active history of demands-oriented struggle, while those of Railways, Land transport, Air Transport, Seaports, Municipalities, and General Services had weak demands-oriented struggles, and did not play an effective role in public life. The role of the rest of the trade unions fluctuates depending on the quality of leadership, measured by degree of politicisation and union consciousness.

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• The overwhelming majority of unions have headquarters in Amman, while those based elsewhere are limited to Petrochemicals (Zarqa), and Railways (Ma'an). About half of the headquarters are located in the building of the General Federation of Trade Unions, particularly those of small trade unions with limited financial resources. Those with separate independent headquarters are nine:
  • Petroleum and Petrochemicals
  • Banks, Insurance and Auditing
  • Electricity
  • Railways
  • Spinning and Weaving Industry
  • Seaports and Clearance
  • Mines and Mining
  • Food Industries
  • Land Transport and Mechanics

Despite lack of exact information about the size of women's membership in unions, it is possible to state that they are mainly "patriarchal." Union women do not play leading roles therein, except symbolically. They are concentrated in three unions: Banks and Insurance (1,600 women out of 4,715 members, or 34%), Health Services (1,300 women out of 4,600 members, or 28%), and Private Education (this trade union did not provide information on women's membership). While it is expected that there are reasonable ratios of women in the membership of the unions of Air Transport, Commercial Stores, General Services, Free Professions, and Food Industries, accurate statistics are not available. Women’s leadership positions in unions have been limited to four cases of membership of the administrative committee:

• Khawlah Hamdan, Health Services
• Hilda Ghattas, Spinning and Weaving
• Su'ad Bakeer, Air Transport and Tourism
• Manal Abdulrazzaq, Private Education.

These represent a negligible ratio of the total number of trade union administrative committee members (See Table 6).