CIRCUMSTANCES OF REMAINING VIETNAMESE WORKERS AT

UNCLAS AMMAN 001262 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR G/TIP, DRL/AWH, NEA/ELA AND EAP/MLS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB PHUM TIP JO VM SUBJECT: CIRCUMSTANCES OF REMAINING VIETNAMESE WORKERS AT W&D APPAREL REF: A. AMMAN 976 ¶B. HANOI 400 ¶C. 4/18 ANZALDUA-HATTAYER EMAIL ¶D. AMMAN 902 ¶1. (SBU) On April 24 PolCouns paid another visit to W&D Apparel Company in the Tajamouat Qualifying Industrial Zone (QIZ) to follow up on the conditions of the remaining 101 Vietnamese laborers after the departure from Jordan of over 150 Vietnamese (refs A and B) and in light of continuing accusations by U.S. NGO Boat People SOS (BPSOS) of labor abuses at the factory (ref C). ¶2. (SBU) PolCouns spoke separately in Vietnamese with three employees (selected by PolCouns) for 15 minutes each: one from the group of "strikebreakers" who had originally struck but went back to work in mid-February; and two from the group of twenty "strikers" who decided to stay after factory management made certain concessions (ref D). No representatives of factory management or the GOJ were present, and the interviews took place in a private office with no others present. ¶3. (SBU) The three women provided consistent answers in response to PolCouns' questions: - Labor-management relations were satisfactory; - They were all in possession of their passports; - GVN representatives who had come to Jordan had told them that if, in the future, they wanted to be repatriated, they could be, and all three felt confident that the offer was real; - Quality and quantity of food was sufficient, and factory management had taken steps to ensure that the food was closer to Vietnamese in style (earlier it had been more Chinese); - They were working very regular hours (8-12 and 1-5, with overtime from 6-8, with one day off per week) and being paid according to their contracts (USD 150 base salary plus allowances which brought the total to USD 220, with the potential for more from overtime); - Overtime was voluntary but taken by nearly all employees ("we came here to work and make money for our families," said one of the interviewees) - Many of the workers had mobile phones which they could use to contact the outside world, should they wish, and felt that they could contact GVN representatives in Cairo and Vietnam if the need arose; - They could come and go freely from the factory during lunch breaks and on days off. ¶4. (SBU) Polcouns specifically asked about the accusations made by BPSOS on April 16 (ref C),i.e. that the remaining workers wanted to go home, that one of them was pregnant and in distress, that they have been forced to work extensive overtime beyond the two hours per day permitted, and that wages are still being withheld. The three women categorically denied the accusations. HALE