LABOR ROUNDUP: ILO PROGRAM; FTA; POVERTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 001533 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2013 TAGS: ELAB PGOV PHUM PREL JO SUBJECT: LABOR ROUNDUP: ILO PROGRAM; FTA; POVERTY ALLEVIATION REF: A. AMMAN 313 ¶B. AMMAN 02 03761 Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM. REASONS 1.5 (B) and (D). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. On March 5, the GOJ and the International Labor Organization signed a long-awaited memorandum of understanding on a program to develop "internal social dialogue." The three year program (one of two ILO programs here) is funded exclusively by the U.S. Department of Labor with approximately 1.4 million USD. Based on our meetings with Minister of Labor Muzahim Muhaisin and ILO Regional Director Taleb Rifai, we believe the GOJ and ILO are in a good position to cooperate on labor issues for the foreseeable future. ¶2. (C) In our meetings, Rifai focused on the positive impact the Free Trade Agreement could have on labor issues here. Muhaisin, by contrast, concentrated on programs to alleviate poverty and unemployment through vocational training. END SUMMARY. -------------- --- LABOR MINISTER AND ILO ON THE SAME PAGE - FINALLY -------------- --- ¶3. (C) On January 14, PolCouns and PolOff met with Taleb Rifai, newly appointed Regional Director of the ILO (note: Rifai had been Jordan's Minister of Tourism prior to the ILO appointment - ref a). PolCouns asked about the status of the long-delayed 1.4 million USD ILO program to increase communication among labor, management and government, funded entirely by the U.S. Department of Labor. Rifai chalked up the delay in the official roll-out of the "internal social dialogue" program to personality differences between previous ILO personnel and LabMin Muhaisin. He predicted the program would move forward successfully once a memorandum of understanding was signed, like the recently launched ILO program that focuses on elimination of child labor. ¶4. (C) PolOff and PolCouns subsequently met with Labor Minister Muhaisin on January 28. He admitted the Labor Ministry had "made mistakes" at the outset of the social dialogue program, but was also ultimately confident the program would be a success. PolCouns noted the USG is interested in the ILO program, not only because it is entirely funded by the DOL, but because we want to be sure that such programs meet the needs of Jordan, and because such programs help implement the labor provisions of the US/Jordan FTA. -------------- ILO PROGRAM ON LINE - FINALLY -------------- ¶5. (SBU) On March 5, the GOJ and ILO signed the long-awaited MOU for the social dialogue program. The program will assist in improving communications among labor actors including the MOL, unions, workers and factory managers. The program is also designed to enhance collective bargaining, and strengthen the capacity of the ministry to enforce "fundamental working rights." The program calls specifically for the "enhancement of work and employment conditions for both men and women in the Qualifying Industrial Zones." Note: QIZ labor conditions have, and continue to meet, ILO standards for work conditions (ref b). -------------- FREE TRADE AGREEMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) During our January meeting, ILO Regional Head Rifai made clear he is aware of the FTA, which requires both the US and Jordan, as members of the ILO, to ensure that trade is not encouraged by relaxing domestic labor laws, or by not enforcing existing laws (per Article 6 of the FTA). Rifai characterized Jordanian labor standards as relatively good and was confident Jordanian labor laws will not become an issue vis-a-vis article 6 of the FTA. However, Rifai was realistic that outside of the QIZs it would be more challenging to make immediate improvements to labor conditions, since most ventures in Jordan are on a small scale, and do not have access to large amounts of capital. This contrasts with the QIZs, Rifai said, and their ability to centrally manage large numbers of workers and their working conditions. -------------- -------------- LABOR MINISTRY: MORE INSPECTORS, MORE VOCATIONAL TRAINING, FIGHT POVERTY -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) In the January 28 meeting with LabMin, PolCouns emphasized the importance of labor standards in the FTA. Muhaisin seemed unaware of the FTA provision, and was more focused on reducing the demand for foreign labor at the QIZs by improving the quality of the local work force via vocational training programs. More jobs would lead to less poverty, which is a cornerstone goal of the GOJ. "Poverty is a national issue. Jordanians like to act as if they are rich. We are not. We are poor." Aside from vocational training for numerous "blue collar" fields, Muhaisin noted a new program, in conjunction with Jordan University, that focuses on "white collar" job training. Muhaisin also said the ministry has hired more labor inspectors, bringing the total number to 85, and was implementing a program whereby inspectors get bonuses for uncovering labor violations. Finally, Muhaisin noted that segments of the agricultural sector (i.e. engineers) and domestic help are now covered by the labor law. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C) We were impressed with Rifai's knowledge of the emerging labor issues of most importance to Jordan in the near future, i.e. FTA and QIZ. He is aware of the linkage between the FTA, the growing QIZ textile sector, and the resulting emergence of attention from international labor NGOs and unions. Rifai's previous experience with the ILO, and his familiarity with Jordan and the GOJ should provide for a cooperative ILO-GOJ relationship. We are pleased to see the ILO "social dialogue" program finally out of the barn and moving into action; as both ILO programs here are funded exclusively with Department of Labor money, we will continue to monitor them. ¶9. (C) We expect Muhaisin's vocational training effort to have marginal effects despite his enthusiasm. Labor and business sector contacts tell us the GOJ's programs are, at best, not as effective as they could be. The programs are generally seen as poorly targeted (i.e. training an equal number of textile workers and hair dressers in an economy that has a shortage of the former and a surplus of the latter) and of inferior quality. On the other hand, QIZ exporters train workers through in-house training over a six-week period, often with innovative training techniques. They report good results in their efforts to train local workers, but have limited floor space and resources to train as many Jordanian workers as they would like to have working for them. Most QIZ exporters indicate they would like to work with the GOJ to train Jordanian labor, but have not been able to communicate effectively with the GOJ on how to best achieve this goal. ¶10. (SBU) USAID has been working with the GOJ on modernizing its vocational training system and linking it with current market demand. We will continue to encourage the Ministry to communicate better with management and labor in order to optimize their vocational training, and we expect the "social dialogue" program to provide some help in these efforts. GNEHM