By Hani Hazaimeh
The Jordan Times, Monday June 8, 2009
AMMAN - Industrialists, unionists and investors on Wednesday warned against any raise in work permit fees for guest workers.
On Monday, Labour Minister Ghazi Shbeikat said that the ministry was reconsidering the activation of an article in the current Labour Law entitling the ministry to raise the work permit fee, adding that the suggested raise stands at JD100.
If the ministry goes ahead with the move, critics said the consequences would be “disastrous”. They also charged that the decision would contradict the previous government commitment to support the industrial sector and the investment environment particularly during the current harsh economic conditions.
Athulla Edirisinghe, director and CEO of EAM Maliban Garment Company in the Duleil QIZ, described the step as "driving the last nail in the coffin of the QIZ apparel sector”.
"At a time when investors are about to appeal for support from the government to keep their businesses afloat in this country, any decision to increase the work permit fee will no doubt be the last nail in the QIZ coffin," Edirisinghe told The Jordan Times yesterday.
Dirar Sarayreh, president of Jordan Construction Contractors Association, said in a letter faxed to The Jordan Times yesterday that the ministry's decision would lead to chaos in the labour market and the construction sector in particular.
"It will result in adversary repercussions on the Kingdom's economic sector yet it will not necessarily lead to less reliance on foreign labour due to the shortage in the local skilled workforce," Sarayreh said.
President of the General Trade Union of Workers in Textile Industries Fathallah Emrani said the Labour Ministry's announcement contradicts the commitment by Prime Minister Nader Dahabi to support the industrial sector during a previous meeting with the sector’s representatives.
At the meeting which took place last month, Emrani said he handed Dahabi a list of demands deemed necessary to support the QIZ sector. The premier promised to look into the demands and take immediate measures accordingly.
The document, a copy of which was e-mailed to The Jordan Times, said that the QIZ sector, which exports 95 per cent of its production to the US, is suffering from serious ramifications due to the global economic crisis.
He noted in the letter to Dahabi that the number of US companies investing has been shrinking and several companies have left Jordan and moved the investments to other countries such as Egypt, seeking lower production costs. Other factories have been forced to close down causing significant loss of jobs.
"What is required is to sustain the remaining factories and aid them to overcome this crisis… and encourage those factories that left the country to return," read the letter addressed to the premier.
"We need immediate action to protect Jordanian workers from unemployment, especially since the textile and garment sector employs a large number of workers. If these workers lose their jobs, there will be no project or workplace that will accommodate this large number of workers."
The Cabinet agreed to exempt QIZ employers from the fee of a work permit per each employed Jordanian and to waive the fees of two more work permits per each newly employed Jordanian, Emrani said.
The unionist added the letter also included suggested measures to address this situation.
Those included holding joint meetings between stakeholders, the government, employers and trade unions, to draw mechanisms for supporting factories in order to sustain their business and lure back those who left.
The government was also urged to provide direct support for Jordanian workers by adding JD40-50 to the salaries for those who are still working in QIZ factories.
4 June 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment