Support to Sustainable Reform of Social Work Injury Insurance in Jordan

Work Injury Insurance is one of the oldest social security scheme of Jordan. It was created in 1967 in order to insure compensation for work-related injuries. Employers contribute to a public fund managed by the Social Security Corporation (SSC), used to compensate for health costs related to the work injury. The main challenges regarding this insurance are:

• the extension of the insurance to cover new risks and new beneficiaries,

• the lack of rehabilitation or adaptative measures supporting injured people to work again,

• the lack of awareness on occupational safety and health policies in the workplace (especially in small and medium enterprises).

Funded by the European Union and implemented by Expertise France, this twinning project aims at improving the coverage and governance of the insurance, enhancing OSH policy and improving the rehabilitation of the injured through coordinated case-management.
 

Designing and implementing strategic reforms

With this project, Expertise France will provide the SSC with a wide range of French and European expertise in order to support the design and implementation of strategic reforms, among them:

• the extension of the coverage of the insurance to new targeted populations (students and high-school for instance, or domestic work),

• the extension of risks (through new rights and sector-specific risks).

Communication campaigns to reach out to employers and employees as well as students and schools will be implemented in order to maximise enrolment.

Improving rehabilitation through different stakeholders and coordinated case-management of injuries will mobilize expertise from different countries. Experts on coordinated reintegration and case-management of work injury will support the design and implementation of this reform.

Use of new technology, whether for internal and external processes, monitoring and evaluation or for outreach campaigns, is also at the heart of the twinning activities.

Improving OSH policy at employer’s level

According to research worldwide, investing in prevention of work injuries and diseases enables to save more than having to pay for accidents. Work environments evolve quickly, so do risks. Occupational safety and health (OSH) experts and inspectors need to be up-to-date in order to prevent and mitigate risks in the workplace.

OSH experts from France and Europe will provide tools and trainings to inspectors at SSC in charge of counselling employers on their OSH policy. Many sectors in the Jordan economy are concerned: construction and manufacturing, tourism and domestic work especially.