Jordan government to raise public sector wages next year

Jordan government to raise public sector wages next year

Author: ReutersID: 1575571128276530000Thu, 2019-12-05 16:46

AMMAN: Jordan agreed on Thursday to public sector wage rises, a move that will increase government spending at a time of rising public debt but is crucial to stave off social instability, officials said.

Prime Minister Omar Al-Razzaz said the government took the decision, which covers 700,000 state employees including army personnel and civilian and military retirees, even though the country's finances were stretched.

"The economic situation and the exceptional circumstances that Jordan is going through in the region necessitates improving living conditions,“ Razzaz told an audience of officials and prominent figures.

The government, which has said it will not resort to new taxes, is mindful of protests in neighboring countries, including Lebanon and Iraq, in the past month over eroding living standards and corruption.

Tax rises pushed by the IMF last year sparked some of the biggest demonstrations in years and were also blamed by economists and politicians for a contraction in business activity.

The last significant public sector pay rises in 2010 and 2011 were part of billions of dollars in extra social spending to curb protests inspired by regional uprisings.

The public sector has over the last two decades expanded rapidly as successive governments sought to appease citizens with state jobs