Will the government reconsider the decision to stop working on winter time? – Watan News

2023-09-07 18:01:49

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September 7, 2023

Watan Al-Youm: With the approaching winter, many questions bring winter and summer time in Jordan back to the forefront again, after the government decided last year to install daylight saving time throughout the year.
Fixing the daylight saving time last year sparked a great controversy in the Jordanian street, amid serious demands not to fix the time throughout the year.
And the government stated in a statement last year that the decision came after an extensive study conducted by the government to find out the feasibility of fixing daylight savings time, which showed that its continuation allows for the benefit of the longest possible time of daylight hours.
She added that the decision would limit working hours during the evening and night hours, especially for evening shift students, university students, and employees in the public and private sectors whose work nature requires them to work until the evening hours.

Objection to the decision

The decision witnessed a major objection from some families due to school and university students working early in the morning, as students go to their schools and universities early and before sunrise, which poses a danger to the students’ lives, according to their description.

Poll
On the other hand, the results of an opinion poll published by the Center for Strategic Studies, following the government decision, showed that 61 percent of Jordanians oppose the establishment of daylight saving time, and are in favor of changing the time according to the season, while 25 percent agree to keep daylight saving time throughout the year, and 11 percent agree to keep winter time. All year round.

During the era of the government of Dr. Abdullah Al-Nsour
In late 2013, former Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour decided to reintroduce winter time after suspending it for a period, and issued a statement specifying the working hours for summer and winter time.
As a result of this decision, which came after a wave of widespread criticism and popular protests, the Council of Ministers issued a decision to adopt the principle of implementing daylight saving time in the Kingdom by delaying the clock hands by 60 minutes, starting from one o’clock in the morning on the last Friday of October of each year.
Pursuant to this decision, winter time for the year 2016/2017 began on the 28th of this month unless the Council of Ministers headed by Dr. Hani Al-Mulqi takes a decision to the contrary.
As is the case for most countries in the world that have adopted winter time, the government believes that the need for this timing is “economic benefit,” especially with regard to saving energy.
According to government estimates, during the era of Eagles, officials said that about 7 million dinars were saved during the period of canceling winter time and summer work.
Summer time in Jordan began at the end of March, while winter time began at the end of October.