Activities

Amman, Sunday, June 14, 2026

Jordan Labor Watch has called for a comprehensive review of national labor legislation to ensure its alignment with the provisions of the newly adopted International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy (2026), the first international convention dedicated to regulating the working conditions of platform workers and establishing standards for their protection and fundamental rights.

The call was made in a policy paper issued by Labor Watch, which concluded that significant legislative and regulatory gaps exist and require urgent legal intervention to keep pace with the rapid transformation of Jordan’s digital labor market and to comply with the new international standards.

Labor Watch noted that the expansion of work through ride-hailing applications, delivery services, and various digital platforms over recent years has created new opportunities for employment and income generation. However, it has also exposed growing challenges related to social protection, wages, occupational safety and health, collective representation, as well as emerging issues associated with algorithmic management and artificial intelligence.

The paper identified the absence of a clear legal definition and classification framework for platform workers as one of the most significant legislative gaps. This allows digital platforms to classify workers as independent contractors even in cases where platforms exercise substantial levels of supervision and control over their work.

Accordingly, the paper called for amendments to the Labor Law to ensure legal recognition of platform workers and the introduction of a legal presumption that would facilitate determining the existence of an employment relationship based on the actual nature of the relationship between the worker and the platform.

The paper also highlighted major shortcomings in extending social security coverage to most platform workers, stressing the need to amend relevant legislation to guarantee their inclusion in social protection schemes and to require platforms to contribute to social security payments for workers who rely on platform work as their primary source of income.

Regarding wages, the paper warned of the lack of safeguards protecting workers from low earnings and unclear deductions. It recommended guaranteeing minimum wage protections for workers who have an employment relationship with platforms and requiring full transparency regarding the calculation of wages, commissions, incentives, and deductions.

The paper further emphasized that platform workers—particularly ride-hailing drivers and delivery workers—face significant occupational risks related to traffic accidents, adverse weather conditions, and long working hours. It therefore called for their explicit inclusion under occupational safety and health regulations and for ensuring protection against work-related injuries.

In addition, the paper shed light on the growing challenges associated with the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence in managing work. These systems increasingly influence task allocation, performance evaluation, and workers’ access to employment and income opportunities, often without legal frameworks governing their operation or ensuring transparency. The paper called for granting workers the right to understand how such systems affect their work and to challenge automated decisions that may impact their earnings or continued access to work.

The paper also addressed the issue of sudden account suspension or deactivation, emphasizing that digital accounts represent workers’ primary gateway to employment and income. It therefore called for legal safeguards preventing arbitrary account deactivation or contract termination and ensuring workers’ rights to appeal and seek review of such decisions.

Furthermore, the paper stressed the importance of strengthening the collective rights of platform workers, including their right to organize and engage in collective representation. It also called for the development of effective and accessible dispute resolution mechanisms and for the adoption of clear policies to protect workers from violence and abuse that may occur while performing their duties, including incidents involving customers.

In conclusion, Labor Watch emphasized that the adoption of the ILO Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy (2026) marks a milestone in the global regulation of platform-based work and presents Jordan with an important opportunity to modernize its legislative framework in a manner that safeguards the rights of thousands of workers engaged in ride-hailing, delivery services, and other digital platform activities.