AMMAN - The maternity and unemployment insurance programmes launched by the Social Security Corporation (SSC) in September will play an important role in combating poverty and unemployment, SSC officials said.

Mohammad Mubaideen, the director of the SSC's branch in west Amman, explained during a lecture on Tuesday that maternity insurance will encourage business owners to hire more women, who already make up over 14 per cent of the workforce.

Mubaideen explained that maternity insurance, which gives working mothers around 70 days' paid leave when they give birth, is paid for by employers, who contribute 0.075 per cent of the salary of each employee - both male and female - to the insurance fund.

He indicated that women must be subscribed to the insurance policy for at least nine months before they can benefit from it, and must present a formal letter from the Civil Status and Passports Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or any Jordanian embassy if they give birth outside Jordan.

Mothers must not work during their maternity leave in order to collect payments, Mubaideen said, as the programme is intended to allow mothers to look after their newborn children.

He also pointed out that each woman is eligible for up to four maternity leaves, but not more.

SSC Spokesperson Mousa Subaihi indicated that in implementing the maternity programme, the SSC faced resistance from business owners who did not want to pay the required percentage from both male and female employees' salaries.

"By forcing business owners to pay for both men and women, we ensure that they will hire women and the percentage of their participation in the working force will increase in the future," he told The Jordan Times during a lecture held by the SSC.

Subaihi said previously that companies paying into the maternity insurance fund is a form of corporate social responsibility.

Meanwhile, Iyad Jawdat, the director of the SSC's branch in south Amman, described unemployment insurance as "protection" for employees.

Under the new policy, 1 per cent is deducted from the salaries of civil servants and private sector employees, while business owners pay 0.5 per cent.

In return, employees who lose their jobs receive up to six months of payment while they look for work, provided that they prove that they are actively seeking new jobs.

"This kind of insurance protects a worker when he leaves the work force temporarily," Subaihi indicated.

To receive unemployment insurance, an employee must have held a social security subscription for 36 months before seeking benefits. Also, men over 59 years old and women over 54 may not take advantage of this form of insurance.

A worker can benefit from unemployment insurance up to three times over the course of his or her career.

"The subscriber gets paid 75 per cent [of his or her previous salary] in the first month, 65 per cent in the second month, 55 per cent in the third month and 45 per cent for the remaining three months. This mechanism will encourage employees to find a new job since the money decreases monthly," Subaihi explained.

Both maternity and unemployment insurance policies were initiated on September 1, and the SSC has collected payments toward these programmes since then.