Workers in a clothing factory at Al Hassan Industrial Zone, 12 February 2017

Tamkeen Fields for Aid Center expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation regarding the inappropriate working conditions and degrading treatment, in which 100 workers in one of the clothing companies at Al Hassan Industrial Zone, amounting in some of them to Human Trafficking crime and forced labour conditions…The violations against the workers, include…Some female workers were subjected to physical assault by the owner of the factory… The factory delayed in paying the salaries of workers for 10 days after the due date...The workers have been promised better working and living conditions... Unhealthy housing environment, where every eight workers are staying in one room, poorly ventilated…causing the spread of insects; bad and unsanitary bathrooms; no kitchen is provided in the housing; workers are not allowed to take sick leaves, whatever the case, and in the case of the absence of any of the workers, they deduct from his/her salary; Large amount of money are deducted from the salaries of the workers in case of a simple mistake, could reach the half of the salary amount. E.g.; one of the workers had her salary deducted for one week because of absence from work for one day because she was suffering from pain in her foot…Eighty male and female workers from Bangladesh and India had their passports confiscated for four months under the pretext of completing the issuance of the work and residency permits, but until the date of the complaint no action was taken, not even a medical check, which is the first step to initiate the issuance of work permits. By following-up the case of workers at the factory, we concluded the following: As a result of the conditions reported, the case was referred to Ramtha Prosecutor as an offense of human trafficking… No precautionary action was taken by any of the authorities…to protect the victims during the investigation and trial stage… The workers began to demand for their rights, but they were threatened…Twenty workers were selected for dismissal.

[BHRRC has not been able to reach the factory and is in the process of reaching out to brands outsourcing from the factory and will publish their responses once received]

A picture of a bathroom at the factory (courtesy of Tamkeen)