Prime Minister of Jordan Dr. Marouf Bakhit said the government will continue to work on empowering the middle class  and protecting the poor through several programs, including the fight to stop and limit the spread of poverty.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister stated that the aim of the program is to expand social security coverage in the Capital and Zarqa by widening the  umbrella to include all categories of employment and work on preparing plans and programs that increase worker protection both during employment and after retirement.

Bakhit said, "We must provide full protection to our labor force since it is exposed to risks of aging, disability, death, and disease."

The Director of the General Organization for Social Security, Ma'en Al Nsour, stated that the plans to widen social security coverage in the Capital and Zarqa  will be completed by this year and small businesses will be included in this coverage.

According to Al Nsour, the social security program will provide coverage for 97 thousand small businesses in the Capital and 25 thousand in Zarqa. The current number of people covered by social security in the capital and Zarqa is 920 thousand and they work in 28 thousand private and public businesses.

He pointed out that these pensions will help reduce the poverty rate which increased by 6%, according to a social security study.

Chairman of the Jordan Chamber of Industry, Hatem Halawani, said that this social security program will expand the middle class and stimulate Jordanians to join the work force in both the private and public sector.

Chairman of the Committee for Labour and Social Development in the House of Representatives, Mr. Khaled Al Fanatsa, praised the positive impact the project  has on employers, especially in small businesses, which constitute a large segment of the private labor market.