Jordan Reintroduces Military Conscription To Slash Unemployment
Jordan’s Minister of Labor Nidal Batayneh and Assistant Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Administration and Manpower Brig. Gen. Abdullah Shdeifat on Wednesday announced the details of the reintroduced mandatory military service, after signing a memorandum of understanding between the ministry and the Jordanian Armed Forces / Arab Army.
In a press conference, Batayneh said that the reintroduction of military service has been demanded by many groups of society, especially by the youth themselves, parents and employers, adding that this can be seen in the positive reactions after the announcement was made.
Batayneh stated that the military service, known as “Banner Service”, centers around the acquisition of technical, professional and practical skills that will qualify young people to enter the labor market efficiently and competently at a time when unemployment rates have risen to unprecedented levels due to the economic and health conditions that afflicted the entire world following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The minister indicated that the military service will be compulsory for Jordanian males according to the provisions of Article 3 of the Banner Service Law of 1986 and its amendments, and that the period of service will be 12 months. As for the target group and the criteria, Batayneh stated that the Armed Forces will conscript every Jordanian male from the age of 25 to 29 years old.
The category that will be conscripted in the first batch are born in 1995 and meet the following criteria:
1- That the person is unemployed, and had not had an effective social security contribution during the last year preceding the date of his conscription, or is unable to prove a regular employment during the last year preceding the conscription date, regardless of social security subscription, and is not a partner in a registered company or the owner of an effective sole proprietorship registered with the competent authorities anytime during the last year prior to the conscription date.
2- He is not an expatriate.
3- He should be medically fit and not classified with a fifth degree injury according to a medical committee.
4- That he is not an only child (male) regardless of whether or no the parents are living.
5- He should not be a regular student in secondary schools, institutes, colleges or universities, and at any level of education.
6- He should not be the breadwinner.
