About 50 employees and journalists at Al-Rai daily newspaper have staged a sit-in in front of their newspaper’s building on Queen Rania Street.

Protesters have told AmmanNet that this sit-in will continue until their demands are met by the newspaper administration.

This sit-in is considered to be the first in the history of the newspaper, and is being used to force the administration into fulfilling the demands of newspaper workers.

Protesters demanded their newspaper to be more professional, by being the newspaper of the kingdom rather than the government.

Workers in protest have also asked the administration to conduct a fundamental amendment on salaries among junior staffers, as well as implement the rule of the 16^th month salary, in addition to establishing a savings fund and paying their employees end-of-service benefits.

Al-Rai protesters lifted signs with slogans like: “16^th month salary,” “savings fund again,” “end-of-service benefits”, and “health insurance with dignity.”

Other signs charged the newspaper’s management with nepotism and a governmental slant, and they have asked the administration to reconsider the shares of distribution among them as workers at the newspaper.

Jordan Press Foundation Director General Nader Horani and Board of Directors Secretary Omran Kheir have both promised the demonstrators to convey their message to the board of directors.

For his part, Abdul Wahab Zugheilat, the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Rai Newspaper, has explained to demonstrators that the annual pay increases recently adopted were upon request of department heads, and that he had no influence over the decision.

Zugheilat mentioned that the annual pay increases adopted have varied from JD60 to JD120 for journalists.

The Editor-in-Chief added that he is personally with the protesters in their demands, yet, there are some administrative demands that fall only within the jurisdiction of the board of directors.

Protesters indicated that they have agreed upon sending a letter to Prime Minister Marouf Al-Bakhit, explaining their demands.

The secretariat of the Al-Rai of Newspaper board of directors received on Monday the memorandum signed by employees and young journalists working at the newspaper, in which they expressed their rejection of the foundations upon which company shares are distributed and sold in the most widely-distributed newspaper in the kingdom.

Hundreds of workers signing on the memo claimed that the bases upon which the shares are distributed are still vague and unjust and that it depends on varied salaries due to the increments and amendments to the previous salaries, not to mention the low wages of workers at the administration.

Others added that the fact that new employees are not included in the shares distribution decision has affected their situation in the institution.

It is worth mentioning that the Social Security Corporation is taking over most of the Al-Rai Newspaper’s shares for the time being.

Demonstrators have included their demands in seven main points, as follows:

1-     A real amendment on salaries.

2-     Receive the 16^th month salary.

3-     Form an independent committee to: (a) study salary structure, (b) know the bases upon which the latest annual pay increases depended, (c) establish just and stable grounds for pay (d) revise the mechanism of shares distribution in a just way, especially for new employees and those of lower salaries.

4-     Reconsider the current health insurance plan in a way that maintains dignity for the employees and their families.

5-     Assign end-of-service benefits.

6-     Establish a savings fund for workers at the institution.

7-     Establish clear guidelines in the benefits system for the workers.