Poverty Support Since the beginning of its economic reform programme in 1989, the Government of Jordan has moved increasingly away from providing generalised subsidies on food and other basic expenditure items towards more targeted poverty support (Seijaparova and Pellekaan, 2004). A sales tax was also introduced in 1994, further increasing the price of consumer goods (Harrigan, El-Said and Wang, 2006). The National Aid Fund, established in 1986, has thus come to play an increasingly important role, providing emergency cash assistance and health insurance (through recommendation to the Ministry of Health), in addition to recurrent cash transfers to the poor unable to work33. However, this support is only available to Jordanian citizens34. As a result, the effects of cuts to general subsidies and price increases have not been mitigated for poor ex-Gazans. Employment and access to the labour market Until January 2016, and at the time of our research, ex-Gazans had the right to work in Jordan and, unlike other foreigners, did not require work permits. However, like other non-nationals, they remained generally excluded from ‘closed’ professions (MoL 2018) and sectors normally reserved for Jordanian citizens35. The government is the largest single employer in Jordan. Although Palestinian-Jordanians have long been under-represented in the public sector (Shiblak, 1996, p. 43; Sirriyeh, 2000, p. 77), public employment for Palestinian refugees has increased since the 1990s (Tiltnes and Zhang, 2014, p. 35) with 15% of the Palestinian camp labour force working in the public sector (Tiltnes and Zhang, 2013, p. 196). As foreigners, however, exGazans can only be employed by the government on a non-permanent, contractual basis, effectively barring them from most public positions and relegating them to menial jobs. Admission to government employment is, and has been, opened when additional or specialised labour has been required to meet needs 36, such as the hiring of ex-Gazan teachers in public schools in southern Jordan during the 1980s37. In the private sector, ex-Gazans cannot practice freely in professions such as journalism, pharmacy, dentistry, accounting, and teaching. These professions require a Jordanian practicing license and/or compulsory enrolment in professional associations or syndicates. But syndicate regulations usually require Jordanian citizenship or that certification by the Jordanian professional society is granted on a reciprocal basis with the worker’s home country 38. Here ex-Gazans formally fall under agreements between Jordan and the Palestinian authority (these exist for law, agricultural engineering, and various Law No. 36 of 1986 on the National Aid Fund. Instruction on Financial Aid for the Care and Protection of Families in Need No. 2 of 2012; Instruction on Financial Aid for the Care and Protection of Families in Need No. 5 of 2015. 35 Labour Law No. 8, Article 12 (1996) states that non-Jordanians should only be employed if the work requires experience and qualifications not available amongst Jordanian workers. 36 Amendment No. 52 of 2011 to the Civil Service Bureau Bylaw No. 30 of 2007, Arts. 43, 63, effective 1 January 2012. 37 Focus group interview, Jerash camp, 21 October 2015; interview with UNRWA Education Department, January 2016. 33 34 38 For example: Jordanian Teachers’ Association Law No. 14 of 2011, Art. 7; Engineers Association Law No. 15 of 1972, Arts. 10, 12; Law of the Jordan Medical Association No. 13 of 1972, Art. 8; Pharmacists Association Law No. 51 of 1972, Art. 7; Dental Association Law No. 17 of 1972, Art. 7 (Art. 8 allows some scope for issuing of temporary licenses at the discretion of the Minister of Health). Fafo Report 2019:34 22