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Opinion

14 Aug 2017

Author:
Samentha Goethals, Senior Researcher on Labour Rights, Ezzeldeen Al Natour, Jordan and Lebanon Researcher & Representative and Marti Flacks, Deputy Director, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre

Decent work for Syrian refugees and other workers in Jordan: progress, hurdles, and next steps

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More than 1.3 million Syrian refugees have entered Jordan since the start of the Syrian conflict. With the war ongoing more than six years later, many have little hope of returning home in the near future. Recognising that, and acknowledging the limits of humanitarian assistance, the Jordanian government and international donors have increasingly focused on finding sustainable employment for both Syrian refugees and their Jordanian hosts, beginning with the 2016 Jordan Compact, which aims to boost employment for Jordanians and create 200,000 jobs for Syrian refugees through improved access to the European Market, increased investment and soft loans. The Compact relies on the private sector and foreign investors to generate economic security through new investment that creates new jobs in sectors like garment manufacturing, construction, and agriculture.

Without adequate safeguards, however, the rapid expansion of these sectors can inadvertently harm the very people the policies seek to help 

Without adequate safeguards, however, the rapid expansion of these sectors can inadvertently harm the very people the policies seek to help – refugees and migrant workers who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, as we’ve seen in the garment sector in Turkey.

On July 8 2017, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, Yarmouk University, and Tamkeen Fields for Aid organized a multi-stakeholder roundtable in Amman, Jordan, to discuss the human rights opportunities and challenges associated with employing Syrian refugees in these sectors, and what companies must do to ensure safe and decent working conditions. The roundtable, the first of three planned in the region, is part of our project on  ‘Promoting corporate due diligence to enhance the human rights and security of refugees and migrant workers in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon’.

Cooperation among the Jordanian Government, Better Work Jordan (the ILO’s programme), employer associations, trade unions, and global fashion brands – as well as the export-oriented nature of the sector – have helped raise minimum working and living standards for migrant workers in garment Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ). 

The workshop discussion clearly demonstrated that significant progress has already been made in the garment sector. Cooperation among the Jordanian Government, Better Work Jordan (the ILO’s programme), employer associations, trade unions, and global fashion brands – as well as the export-oriented nature of the sector – have helped raise minimum working and living standards for migrant workers in garment Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ). Garment factories are now incentivised to create satellite units in cities and rural areas to integrate Syrian refugees a well as women and disabled Jordanian workers into their supply chains by bringing jobs closer to where they live. Global garment brands may also be more attuned to risks of abuse in their supply chains compared with other sectors, due to their experiences in other regions. 

Still, challenges remain, especially related to on-going risks of exploitation, poor health and safety conditions, sexual harassment, and cases of trafficking in QIZ dormitories and factories. To tackle these on-going allegations and reinforce transparency and remedy mechanisms in the sector continued collective action between brands, manufacturers, government, trade unions, Better Work Jordan and local civil society is required. Specifically, together they should ensure that: 

-        Workers in all factories can freely seek support and engage in collective bargaining to raise and get remedy for problems with employers;

-        Problems raised by support workers and local civil society on behalf of workers are effectively addressed to eliminate emerging cases of abuses and continuously improve conditions for all;

-        Non-compliant and abusive employers and recruiting agents throughout the supply-chain are publicly identified and legally sanctioned, while affected workers receive protection and benefit from necessary support and remedy.  

Even more substantial challenges remain in the agriculture and construction sectors...Widespread allegations of child labour, human trafficking and labour exploitation such as poverty wages, unsanitary and dismal living quarters, and sexual harassment (especially of women in agriculture) persist.  

Even more substantial challenges remain in the agriculture and construction sectors, where many major players are not global brands (indeed workshop participants struggled to name any major foreign investors or buyers in this sector), and the sectors as a whole have less developed approaches to prevention of abuse. Widespread allegations of child labour, human trafficking and labour exploitation such as poverty wages, unsanitary and dismal living quarters, and sexual harassment (especially of women in agriculture) persist. Informal work, which increases workers’ vulnerability to exploitation, is commonplace, while farms and quarries are often isolated and together with construction sites are generally poorly monitored. 

Those sectors will also benefit from increased investment from Europe and international development banks under the Jordan Compact. This presents a great opportunity for the Jordan Government to work with trade unions, civil society organisations, the ILO, international investors and employers to: 

-        Identify where standards, laws and inspection currently fail to protect workers;

-        Revise standards and legislation and deploy needed resources for labour inspection to improve current protection and create investment conditions which ensure decent work for all;

-        Continue to facilitate access to work permits not tied to employers for Syrian refugees and other migrant workers, who need them, to formalise employment and stem out exploitation in those sectors.

Over the next few months, the Resource Centre will continue to examine the responsibility of businesses and investors to prevent and provide remedy for abuses in these three critical sectors. We will work with partners on the ground to better understand how these sectors operate, and where the major risks lie, as well as how the most vulnerable populations – including Syrian refugees and migrant workers – can be protected from abuse. Expanding economic opportunities for those who are struggling the most can be an invaluable tool to lift people out of poverty – but only if that work is fair, decent, and safe.