Nayrouz News Agency : His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday urged the government to safeguard small- and medium-sized enterprises and their employees, since they form an integral part of the national economy.

Chairing a National Policies Council (NPC) meeting attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, King Abdullah stressed the importance of maintaining coordination with the private sector to take the necessary measures to counter the economic repercussions of the current extraordinary circumstances caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to a Royal Court statement.

At the meeting, attended by HRH Prince Feisal, adviser to His Majesty and NPC chairperson, His Majesty said that the sooner all adhere to health regulations and rise to the responsibility, the sooner Jordan can overcome the crisis, life can gradually return to normal and economic activity can resume.

The King stressed the need to expand pharmaceutical and medical supply production and increase agricultural production to maintain strategic reserves at safe levels.

For his part, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said that the government, in accordance with Defence Law Order No. 6, will work to regulate the relationship between business owners and employees, highlighting a plan to gradually permit more sectors to resume operations.

The prime minister added that the government is working on an economic response plan to address the COVID-19 crisis, according to the statement.

He said the government had already established procedures that regulate the relationship between business owners and labourers, including financing JD500 million in salaries that are transferred by the Central Bank of Jordan to banks, as well as requiring business owners to pay a minimum of 50 per cent of the salaries of employees who are not present.

Razzaz noted that these procedures are subject to the size of the sector and its labour force and underscored the need to ensure that all employees are subscribed to social security in order to access unemployment benefits.

He said that the government will take into account the liquidity of companies and their respective sizes, while providing tools to preserve the relationship between business owners and their employees and avoid layoffs, the statement said.

Moreover, His Majesty was briefed during the meeting on the progress of measures implemented in various sectors to address the repercussions of COVID-19.