Unionists declare QIZ workers’ exclusion from minimum wage hike ‘discriminatory’

Unionists declare QIZ workers’ exclusion from minimum wage hike ‘discriminatory’

By Hani Hazaimeh

AMMAN - Unionists on Thursday denounced the government’s decision to exclude Qualifying Industrial Zone (QIZ) workers from the new minimum wage as “discrimination” against sector labourers.

General Trade Union of Workers in Textile Industries (GTUWTI) President Fathallah Emrani said on Thursday Jordanian QIZ workers’ exclusion from the new JD150 minimum wage was at odds with the Labour Law.

"When it comes to labourers’ rights, the law does not distinguish between workers, regardless of the sector," Emrani said in a press conference yesterday, adding that without a hike in minimum wage, more Jordanians are expected to leave the sector, which has seen a drop in local staff.

"Around 23,387 Jordanians were employed by QIZ companies in 2004; this figure dropped to fewer than 11,000 by the end of 2008," Emrani said, calling on the government to adjust the minimum wage for Jordanian QIZ workers.

In October of last year, the Labour Ministry raised the minimum wage from JD110 to JD150 a month for 200,000 labourers, a decision that excluded QIZ firms, who in turn pledged to raise their Jordanian workers' salaries voluntarily.

On January 8, the Labour Ministry, the GTUWTI and the Jordan Garment, Accessories and Textiles Exporters Association signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which garment factory owners agreed to raise the wages of around 12,000 Jordanians working in QIZs to JD150 monthly.

None of the QIZ companies, however have abided by the MoU, Emrani said, adding that owners conditioned any salary increase for Jordanian workers on government support for QIZ companies to offset financial losses spurred by a drop in demand from the US market.

In September 2007, Prime Minister Nader Dahabi formed an ad hoc committee headed by the labour minister and comprising members from garment sector owners and workers, tasked with addressing obstacles hindering the sector's progress.

Emrani noted that the committee has “only met once” since its creation, stressing that he believes it has failed to live up to its duty of assessing the compatibility of labour legislations and the QIZ sector.

Meanwhile, Emrani said that through mediation, the GTUWTI settled 69 collective labour disputes between workers and employers involving over 4,600 labourers, in addition to 1,776 individual cases, last year.

The Kingdom's Qualifying Industrial Zones house 91 garment factories employing around 40,000 workers from China, Nepal, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh in addition to Jordan.



6 March 2009