Al-Balqa Applied University grants 'Agriculture' major employees a 48% allowance
On the condition of waiving claims for financial differences
Amman4 min read
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The decision by Al-Balqa Applied University President Dr. Ahmad Al-Ajlouni to grant employees holding bachelor's degrees in agriculture an additional 48% allowance of their basic salary has brought the issue of suspended allowances and previous financial differences back to the forefront, as the university administration has linked the granting of the allowance to signing a pledge not to claim any retroactive allowances or financial differences.
While employees view the decision as an acknowledgment of their entitlement to the allowance, a legal and human rights question arises regarding the legitimacy of linking the disbursement of the allowance to waiving previous financial claims, which employees say arose during periods when the salary and allowance regulations in effect granted them those entitlements.
Employees believe that linking the allowance to a waiver condition opens a wider door for questioning the nature of these claims, especially since recourse to the judiciary remains a guaranteed right for anyone who believes they have financial rights they have not received, which makes linking the allowance to waiving previous claims a subject of objection and inquiry.
The case concerns about 15 employees who were appointed to the university under the Salary and Allowance Regulation No. (74) of 1999, before later being subject to new regulations and amendments, including the Salary and Allowance Regulation No. (111) of 2003 and its amendment under Regulation No. (30) of 2013.
Employees state that the regulations in effect during previous periods allowed for the combination of several allowances, including the technical allowance, the additional allowance, and the two-year service allowance, arguing that the subsequent amendment of the regulations does not, in itself, resolve the issue of entitlements they claim accrued during previous periods, which they argue requires legal determination and the disbursement of what is proven to be owed.
The claims emphasize that the issue is not about requesting a new benefit, but rather about determining the financial rights that arose during specific time periods, in accordance with the regulations and instructions that were in force at the time, and whether those rights have legally expired or not.
Over the past years, employees have submitted several petitions to the University Vice President, Dr. Wadda Al-Adwan, demanding to be granted the additional allowance like their colleagues, but the file of previous financial differences remained without a final resolution, according to the employees.
According to the employees, they were informed that granting the allowance requires submitting a pledge not to claim any retroactive allowances or financial differences, a condition that sparked their objection, considering that granting the current allowance should be examined independently of any previous financial claims, unless there is an explicit legal text that resolves otherwise.
Employees argue that the insistence on the pledge may reflect a fear that, after receiving the allowance, they might head to the judiciary to claim financial differences for previous years, considering that this possibility should not turn into a reason to link a current right to a prior waiver of a disputed right.
Al-Rai followed up on the file with the university administration last March in the presence of the Director of the Financial Affairs Unit, Muhannad Khulaifat, and the Director of Salaries, Mais Abu Al-Haj, requesting clarification of the legal opinion regarding the allowance and financial differences, especially since the issue has been raised for years and concerns the financial rights of employees.
Ultimately, the employees say they are not asking for more than resolving the file according to the law, determining what they are owed and what they owe, and disbursing any entitlements proven by the regulation, far from keeping previous financial rights contingent upon a pledge to waive them.
Al-Ajlouni justified to "Al-Rai" the reason for linking the granting of the allowance to employees submitting the pledge as a fear that they might, after receiving the allowance, head to the judiciary to claim financial differences for previous years, even though this possibility should not turn into a reason to link a current right to a prior waiver of a disputed right.
