Nayrouz News Agency : Jewellery shop owners on Wednesday said they will not open their shops until the government introduces "less complicated and safe measures” to help them resume their work for the first time since the Kingdom introduced the curfew in March.

Earlier in the week, the government announced that it was allowing certain businesses to resume work, including jewellery businesses. It stipulated, however, that in order to operate under the current conditions, businesses must carry out transactions electronically, deliver their products and must register the business and its employees with the Social Security Corporation (SSC).

President of the Jordanian Jewellers Association Osama Imseeh said the sector is "dismayed” by the government’s requirements, "although we pushed hard for our sector to resume its work”.

"They imposed many rules,” Imseeh told The Jordan Times, adding: "It will be very hard for people to buy or sell gold and jewellery without showing up personally to the shops to inspect the goods and ensure a safe and proper transaction.”

Imseeh added that many shop owners are "not familiar” with the use of electronic technology.

"We sent a request to the government affirming that we will abide by the health regulations, as is the situation with local banks, groceries and bakeries and the shops are usually not so congested with shoppers,” Imseeh added.

He said that jewellery shop owners have decided to keep their shops closed until the government introduces "less complicated and safe measures”.

The union president said he was grateful for all the government’s efforts and cooperation, "but we need to make our voices heard so that the sector will operate in the best manner and support the economy”.

Maha Kuzbar, a jewellery shop owner, described the recent government requirements as "illogical and impractical”.

"It is not safe to send jewellery to people via delivery because the goods might get lost or might not be what the customers want,” Kuzbar told The Jordan Times.

Turning to the issue of registering with the SSC in order to get permission to work, Kuzbar said that jewellery businesses are mostly family-owned and "most owners do not want to be part of the SSC because it is not feasible for them”.

"In some businesses, the owner is only one person, and many prefer not to go through the process of joining the SSC,” she said.  

Rami Sakkijha, another jewellery shop owner, also voiced his dissatisfaction with the government’s recent decision.

"Many of us are not ready to use the electronic system or register with the SSC in order to get permission.  Some shop owners are over 60, it is counterproductive for them to be part of the SSC system at this age,” Sakkijha told The Jordan Times.

Sakkijha added that he is "hopeful that the government will look into our demands, because it is really important for us to open our shops like grocery and bakeries, and we will surely abide by all the health regulations”.

Economy and industrial experts recently told The Jordan Times that the government’s recent procedures and regulations regarding the gradual opening of the industrial and business sectors in the Kingdom "are complicated and unfair”.

They also described the condition of registering with the SSC in these special circumstances as "unfair”, saying that business owners will end up incurring extra costs.

Economist Musa Saket said: "Decision-makers are not consulting with the right people and unionists to come up with a clear plan on how they are supposed to go back to work gradually, and this is resulting in unstudied and over-complex decisions.”