ILO holds workshop on labour inspection instructions for factories benefitting from the EU's simplified rules of origin
Participants discussed the impact of enhancing working conditions on improving productivity, trade and competitiveness of industrial enterprises.
5 September 2019
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Amman, Jordan (ILO News) The ILO held a workshop in Amman on Thursday (September 5) introducing factories benefitting from the simplified Rules of Origin (RoO) Agreement, to inspection instructions issued by the Ministry of Labour. The new instructions aim to enhance labour compliance in the manufacturing sector.
Organised by the ILO’s Better Work Jordan, with the support of the European Union (EU), the workshop brought together fourteen companies from the chemical, plastic, engineering and garment sectors, which are authorised to export to the EU market under the EU-Jordan RoO Agreement signed in 2016. It also brought together representatives from the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply and Jordan’s Chamber of Industry.
Participants discussed the various aspects of the inspection instructions and future collaboration between relevant actors to improve trade and working conditions at factory level.
The workshop is part of an ILO-EU partnership to support the implementation of the Agreement for the relaxation of the Rules of Origin between the EU and Jordan, through facilitating employment and job-matching services for Jordanian and Syrian job-seekers and promoting decent work principles in enterprises authorised to benefit from the EU’s relaxed Rules of Origin initiative.
Head of the Inspection Directorate at the Ministry of Labour Adnan Rababaa, emphasised the ministry's commitment to address violations and abuses related to workers’ rights in the workplace. “The ministry is ready to cooperate with stakeholders to improve the working conditions in factories benefiting from the relaxed rules of origin scheme.”
"So far, eight companies have been exporting within the framework of the simplified rules of origin,” said Director of Industrial Development at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply Yasmine Khreisat. “We look forward to more enterprises obtaining an authorisation number which will in return increase the value of Jordanian exports.”
The inspection instructions were published by the Ministry of Labour in July 2019, in efforts to support factories across Jordan wanting to benefit from the trade scheme, through better compliance with the country’s labour law and international labour standards. The instructions highlight the role of Better Work Jordan to assess and inspect these enterprises along with relevant national institutes, such as the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply. They follow the publication of instructions on monitoring and control by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Supply on the implementation of the RoO Agreement.
“Thanks to the new instructions we managed to square the circle, bringing together the Government of Jordan, the private sector, Better Work Jordan, and the EU”, said Head of the Trade, Economics, and Infrastructure Section at the EU Delegation in Amman Sirpa Tulla. “But it is just the beginning. Raising awareness on the RoO Agreement and the benefits companies can reap from participating in Better Work Jordan is one of the steps in building a strong brand name for Jordan in the EU market.”
“We are on the verge of a leading step among Better Work Global country programmes as we are moving with our core services beyond the garment sector to the chemical, engineering and plastics manufacturing sectors,” Better Work Jordan Programme Manager Tareq Abu Qaoud told participants at the workshop. “Together, with our partners, we will work to increase compliance in these industrial enterprises in accordance with Jordanian labour law and international labour standards.”
Better Work Jordan is part of the joint ILO-International Finance Corporation global Better Work programme, which aims to improve working conditions and promote competitiveness in Jordan’s apparel industry. Currently, 90 factories - which employ over 95% per cent of the sector’s 70,000-strong labour force participate in the programme.
Organised by the ILO’s Better Work Jordan, with the support of the European Union (EU), the workshop brought together fourteen companies from the chemical, plastic, engineering and garment sectors, which are authorised to export to the EU market under the EU-Jordan RoO Agreement signed in 2016. It also brought together representatives from the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply and Jordan’s Chamber of Industry.
Participants discussed the various aspects of the inspection instructions and future collaboration between relevant actors to improve trade and working conditions at factory level.
The workshop is part of an ILO-EU partnership to support the implementation of the Agreement for the relaxation of the Rules of Origin between the EU and Jordan, through facilitating employment and job-matching services for Jordanian and Syrian job-seekers and promoting decent work principles in enterprises authorised to benefit from the EU’s relaxed Rules of Origin initiative.
Head of the Inspection Directorate at the Ministry of Labour Adnan Rababaa, emphasised the ministry's commitment to address violations and abuses related to workers’ rights in the workplace. “The ministry is ready to cooperate with stakeholders to improve the working conditions in factories benefiting from the relaxed rules of origin scheme.”
"So far, eight companies have been exporting within the framework of the simplified rules of origin,” said Director of Industrial Development at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply Yasmine Khreisat. “We look forward to more enterprises obtaining an authorisation number which will in return increase the value of Jordanian exports.”
The inspection instructions were published by the Ministry of Labour in July 2019, in efforts to support factories across Jordan wanting to benefit from the trade scheme, through better compliance with the country’s labour law and international labour standards. The instructions highlight the role of Better Work Jordan to assess and inspect these enterprises along with relevant national institutes, such as the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply. They follow the publication of instructions on monitoring and control by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Supply on the implementation of the RoO Agreement.
“Thanks to the new instructions we managed to square the circle, bringing together the Government of Jordan, the private sector, Better Work Jordan, and the EU”, said Head of the Trade, Economics, and Infrastructure Section at the EU Delegation in Amman Sirpa Tulla. “But it is just the beginning. Raising awareness on the RoO Agreement and the benefits companies can reap from participating in Better Work Jordan is one of the steps in building a strong brand name for Jordan in the EU market.”
“We are on the verge of a leading step among Better Work Global country programmes as we are moving with our core services beyond the garment sector to the chemical, engineering and plastics manufacturing sectors,” Better Work Jordan Programme Manager Tareq Abu Qaoud told participants at the workshop. “Together, with our partners, we will work to increase compliance in these industrial enterprises in accordance with Jordanian labour law and international labour standards.”
Better Work Jordan is part of the joint ILO-International Finance Corporation global Better Work programme, which aims to improve working conditions and promote competitiveness in Jordan’s apparel industry. Currently, 90 factories - which employ over 95% per cent of the sector’s 70,000-strong labour force participate in the programme.
| Key aspects of the scheme: In July 2016, the EU and Jordan agreed on a simplification of the rules of origin (RoO) applicable in their bilateral trade. It allows manufacturers and exporters in Jordan to use an alternative set of rules of origin for exports to the EU. The scheme which was extended to companies all over Jordan as of December 2018, applies to 52 different product categories including textiles and garments, engineering and electrical products, chemical products, plastic products, and furniture and wood products, with the only notable exception being the agriculture and food processing sector, which are better served under the current regime (Association Agreement). Companies wishing to benefit from the scheme will have to employ a minimum of 15% of Syrian refugees in their production line exporting to the EU. The Government of Jordan (GoJ) has agreed to put in place specific monitoring procedures to ensure that benefitting companies comply with all requirements of the scheme; monitoring and capacity building for the Ministry of Labour will be carried out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Better Work programme. |