A growing nation in the heart of the Middle East, Jordan is an emerging economy undergoing
a period of reform and building itself into global supply chains.
It has more free trade agreements than any other country in the Arab world and the apparel
industry is now one of its main industrial sectors.
The sector represents almost a third of Jordan’s total exports and employs more than 43,000
workers. Exports to the US alone approach a billion dollars.
The apparel industries rapid success in Jordan is not only interesting for the Jordanian
economy and the world’s largest buyers of clothing.
It has also become a magnet for migrant workers.
Two thirds of workers like these come from places as far away as China, India and Sri
Lanka to earn a living and support their families back home. Guest workers are a distinct link
in the global supply chain here.
But rapid economic development creates conditions that can challenge even the most basic labour
standards.
Phil Fishman is the Head of Better Work Jordan. Established in 2007 it’s already running
its unique programmes in a quarter of the country’s garment factories.
(Phil Fishman, Manager, Better Work Jordan) A few years ago there was some controversy
over conditions in the factories and the Ministry of Labour developed a plan to improve labour
standards in the factories and a major part of that plan was to ask the ILO to come here
to both monitor labour standards but also to work with factories to improve them. Unlike
most other countries most of the workers in the apparel sector here come from other countries.
They are guest workers who come to Jordan just for the purpose of working in the apparel
sector for a period of 3 to 5 years.
(Sri Lanki Migrant Worker) I’ve been working here for several years
now and I plan to stay for two more years to save money for the house I’m building
in my home country. After I finish building my house, I want to go back and be happy with
my family.
(Phil Fishman, Manager, Better Work Jordan) That creates a unique set of issues for these
workers and a certain kind of vulnerability that they face that you don’t often find
in many other countries. These workers come to a country where they don’t often speak
the language, they have a different ethnic background, a different religion, and they’re
here for one purpose and that’s to make money, money they can send back to their families
to help their families survive. So they’re very vulnerable to exploitation They are fearful
of being sent back to their home country thereby losing their income so they’re hesitant
to complain or to raise issues and their desire to get out of debt and to help their families
puts them in a position where they are willing to tolerate treatment that most of us probably
wouldn’t tolerate.
By improving labour standards and competitiveness the industry will also become a better place
for Jordanian workers.
(Nadia – Jordanian worker, Maliban) I wish for the factory to develop more and
for more Jordanians to leave unemployment and join the staff.
(Saeed – Jordanian worker, Maliban) I would like it if more Jordanians come to
work here. It would be a great opportunity for them to develop their skills and improve
their financial status.
(Phil Fishman, Manager, Better Work Jordan) From the point of view of Jordanian workers
it creates some pressure on them because they are often told that guest workers are willing
to work 12- 14 -16 hours per day and the Jordanians are asked why they’re not willing to work
that many hours.
There is growing evidence that better labour standards go hand-in-hand with better business.
One of the country’s garment businesses is Maliban. It spotted the commercial opportunity
in Jordan and understood that it’s responsibilities to its workers extended beyond offering jobs.
(Attulah Edirisinghe, CEO, Maliban) Maliban looked at different countries to make
investments in their globalization process and evaluated evidence in many countries and
Jordan came best out of the lot. Now the factories realize that for them to
discipline themselves and also to deliver a better relationship between the employer
and employee, Better Work Jordan can play a very important role.
The programme’s success - like all Better Work programmes - is dependent on its ability
to build long-standing working relationships with different, sometimes competing, interests.
(Fathallah Omrani, President, Textile Trade Union)
Our union is supportive of Better Work Jordan since it provides the ground work for what
we do. It paves the way for us to have a higher reach in the factories and helps improve worker’s
conditions and productivity. The union and BWJ are working towards the same goals since
we both aim towards improving workers’ conditions, help workers form unions and improve living
standards.
The external view of a country’s labour standards - and the exposure of the world’s
largest buyers to criticism - has become a major driving force for change.
(HE Dr Ghazi Shbeikat, Minister of Labour) The project is an important tool to the Ministry
to ensure compliance in these areas and to ensure adherence to the labour law – it
also helps ensure that we are in compliance with international labour standards.
A ground breaking part of Better Work’s programme is to facilitate better worker representation
in factories. Workers now have the opportunity to independently elect their colleagues who
will represent their issues to the factory management with the support of their union.
(HE Dr Ghazi Shbeikat, Minister of Labour) Workers and factory owners are part of the
process. It is for the benefit of the workers to have such a programme in Jordan. The workers
are actually involved in the process. They elect workers to be involved in the process
of assessment.
For many workers here, it is the first democratic opportunity in which they’ve participated.
The first introduction to the idea that they have some control over their future.
(Phil Fishman, Manager, Better Work Jordan) When you say improving labour standards what
you are really saying is improving people’s lives. If labour standards here can be improved
you could actually see measurable improvement in their daily lives, you could see them being
a little more happy, you could see them sending a little more money home to their families,
you can see them working in safer conditions, you can see them feeling some hope that they
can improve their lives and all this is very exciting, and that’s what we’re all about.
There is a lot of optimism about Better Work’s potential and - following the successes of
the last 18 months - there is a possibility that participation in Better Work will become
obligatory for all garment factories.
(Mr Attulah Edirisinghe, CEO, Maliban Factory) During the last year we are seeing that companies
are accepting joining Better Work and internally they are developing themselves and I believe
that the apparel industry is an industry which is developing world over and Better Work playing
a partnership between the factories and with the buyers it will grow from strength to strength.
Better Work believes that the success in the apparel industry could also be extended into
other major industrial sectors.
(Phil Fishman, Manager, Better Work Jordan) Our hope would be that our coverage would
be for the whole industry in Jordan and that our work together with our stakeholders will
actually have a positive impact. So we have a plan to see if we could go beyond the apparel
sector in the next few years.
A commitment to improving labour standards along global supply chains is not a short
term task but programmes like Better Work already show how much can be done with the
right level of support.
(Phil Fishman, Manager, Better Work Jordan) Better Work is committed to wherever we are.
On the part of all our stakeholders I think the support that we’ve had from factories
has been exciting, we have consistent support from international buyers who buy garments
that are made here, we work closely with the trade union and the trade union is a key stakeholder
in what we’re doing and finally the Jordanian government who understands that the work we’re
doing is to the benefit of the country and the benefit of its people. We are so committed
to Jordan because Jordan has been so committed to us.