Memorandum of Understanding to Provide Insurance Coverage for Workers Against Cancer

Under the memorandum, the two parties work to gain support from employers and related parties, to include cancer insurance as part of the workers' rights in the labor market, and to encourage its inclusion in the basic benefits of collective labor agreements concluded by the Federation and trade unions.

The memorandum also includes holding meetings and consultative meetings with stakeholders, to discuss possible mechanisms to ensure that workers and their families receive protection and insurance coverage against cancer, thereby enhancing the social protection system and preserving workers' rights.

The two parties also cooperate in implementing awareness campaigns and activities targeting workers and employers, to raise awareness about cancer, ways to prevent it, and the importance of early detection, alongside raising awareness about workers' rights through lectures, workshops, and awareness and medical content.

The memorandum also includes encouraging employers to adopt supportive policies for workers affected by cancer during the treatment period, as well as workers who take care of family members affected by the disease, thereby contributing to preserving their job security and labor rights, and providing a work environment that takes into account their needs during treatment and recovery.

In the framework of efforts aimed at enhancing the legal protection of workers affected by cancer and caregivers, the General Federation of Trade Unions of Jordan had addressed the Ministry of Labor regarding proposals to amend the Labor Law, including extending the duration of sick leave, introducing a special leave for caregivers, and protecting the worker from termination of employment due to illness, alongside other proposals related to social and labor protection.

'Al-Rai' had published a journalistic investigation about diseases and cancers linked to work environments, and through testimonies of workers and specialists, it recorded gaps in prevention, awareness, and recognition of some diseases as occupational diseases.

The Public Institution for Social Security stated in statements to the newspaper at the time, that the recognition of the disease as an occupational disease is subject to the diseases listed in the table of occupational diseases, and that cancer is not listed as a general concept, except in specific cases linked to certain occupational factors, including skin cancer resulting from exposure to bitumen, tar, or pitch and mineral oils and their derivatives.

Data from the International Labor Organization reveals that about 4 percent of cancer cases worldwide are due to occupational exposure to carcinogenic substances, while the World Health Organization confirms that millions of workers are exposed daily to occupational factors that may increase the risk of developing multiple types of cancer.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified more than 100 chemical substances as carcinogenic to humans or potentially carcinogenic, while the European 'CAREX' study showed that about 11 million workers in Europe are exposed daily to carcinogenic substances in their workplaces.

The new memorandum of understanding adds another aspect to the file of protecting workers from cancer, by moving from focusing on prevention and occupational exposures to researching the rights of the worker affected by the disease and their family, including insurance, job security, leave, and protection during treatment and recovery.