A Nomadic Approach to the Labour Market: Why Vulnerable Youth Leave their Jobs in Jordan

Promoting youth employment and empowerment of young women in Jordan

The ILO Taqeem “Impact Report” series disseminates research reports from Taqeem-supported employment assessment and impact evaluations.

Work permits and employment of Syrian refugees in Jordan: towards formalising the work of Syrian refugees

The general objective of this assessment is to gain a better understanding of the impact work permits have on the employment of Syrian workers in Jordan.

Employment Promotion

• Created 133,816 workdays in agriculture and infrastructure for Jordanians and Syrian refugees.

Domestic Workers

• Adopted Regulation No. 12 which organises private recruitment agencies and recruitment of migrant domestic workers.
• Piloted an insurance scheme for employers of domestic workers.
• Developed a legal and policy baseline on human trafficking for migrant garment and domestic workers.

Syrian Refugee Crisis

• Created 207,000 workdays for the maintenance and rehabilitation of numerous public assets.
• Instituted flexible work permits in agriculture and construction outside the Kafala (sponsorship) system.
• Issued 57,000 work permits in agriculture and construction.
• Issued 64% of 118,000 work permits for Syrians in all sectors.
• Modified a unified contract for migrant workers in Jordan’s garment sector to include Syrian refugees.
• Established 11 Employment Service Centres which placed some 3,300 Jordanians and Syrians in employment (43% women) and issued around 16,000 formal work permits to Syrian refugees.

Labour Migration

• Achieved a sector-wide collective bargaining agreement for more than 40,000 migrant workers in Jordan’s garment.
• Introduced a policy to ensure zero recruitment fees for garment factory employers.

Child Labour

• Implemented the National Framework on Child Labour.
• Established the National Database on Child Labour.
• Drafted Articles 31 to 36 of the Juvenile Justice Law No. 32. which raises the minimum age of criminal responsibility and prioritizes a rehabilitative approach to juvenile justice.
• Enhanced child regulatory enforcement for 60 juvenile police, 40 National Aid Fund staff and 60 labour inspectors.

Enterprise Development

• Launched 25 start-up business and created 25 jobs through incorporating the Know About Business (KAB) programme.

Gender Equality & Non-discrimination 

• Achieved a collective bargaining agreement for private sector teachers incorporating non-discrimination measures.
• Approved gender-responsive labour code amendments on pay equity, childcare, paternity leave, and flexible working hours in Parliamentary Committees.
• Established around 100 new childcare centres and trained 27 careers on early childhood development.
• Jordan became a member of the Equal Pay International Coalition.

Workers’ Organizations

• Established a multi-purpose workers’ centre which provides legal advice and trade union support for migrant workers in the garment sector.

Skills and Employability

• Enrolled 10,000 Syrian refugees and native Jordanians in a skills recognition programme.

Social Security

• Adopted a new Social Security Law to cover enterprises employing one or more workers, and cover the self-employed.
• Ratified the Convention on Social Security (Minimum Standards), No. 102 (1952), making Jordan the first in the Arab States to do so.
• Implemented a national social protection floor to reduce poverty.
• Revised the investment strategy of the Social Security Investment Fund.
• Government, employers’ and workers’ organizations adopted a strategy to institute universal health care.

Employers' Organizations

• Established a small and medium enterprises unit devoted to policy advocacy and services with Jordan Chamber of Industry.
• Adopted a 15% increase in the minimum wage raise through negotiations with government, unions and employers.

Tripartism and Social Dialogue

• Created a unified contract for migrant workers in the garment sector through a two-year collective bargaining agreement.
• Renewed a collective bargaining agreement covering working conditions and rights at work for 37,000 private sector teachers.
• Annulled a draft law that criminalizes strikes.

International Labour Standards

• Ratified the Maritime Labour Convention.
• Approved a milestone agreement to allow official inspection of garment factory dormitories.
• Developed the National Labour Inspection Policy and Strategy.
• Removed Jordan from the U.S. Department of Labour Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act list.