Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08AMMAN727
2008-03-06 13:41:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Amman
Cable title:
Jordan Waives Overstay Fees for 6,000 Workers in QIZ
how-toVZCZCXYZ4492 PP RUEHWEB DE RUEHAM #0727 0661341 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 061341Z MAR 08 FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1974 INFO RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1060 RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 3828 RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3571 RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 5867 RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0158 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0275 RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0151 RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0145 RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 4899 RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
UNCLAS AMMAN 000727
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EEB/TPP/ABT, NEA/ELA, DRL, G/TIP
STATE PASS TO USTR (CMILLER, AROSENBERG, LKARESH)
STATE PASS USAID
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ECON ETRD EAID KTEX JO
SUBJECT: Jordan Waives Overstay Fees for 6,000 Workers in QIZ
Factories
REF: 07 Amman 4991
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE USG.
UNCLAS AMMAN 000727
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EEB/TPP/ABT, NEA/ELA, DRL, G/TIP
STATE PASS TO USTR (CMILLER, AROSENBERG, LKARESH)
STATE PASS USAID
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ECON ETRD EAID KTEX JO
SUBJECT: Jordan Waives Overstay Fees for 6,000 Workers in QIZ
Factories
REF: 07 Amman 4991
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE USG.
1. (U) The Jordanian Cabinet approved February 27 a request by the
Ministries of Labor and Interior to waive approximately JD 6 million
(USD 8.5 million) in overstay fines for over 6,000 foreign workers
in the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs),mainly from South Asia.
According to the Ministry of Labor (MOL),many of these workers
began accruing overstay penalties when their employers went out of
business and left the country due to financial or labor problems
revealed in a May 2006 National Labor Committee (NLC) report. Fines
of 1.5 JD (USD 2.12) per day accrued for every day that the workers
were "illegally" in Jordan. NOTE: Any expatriate in Jordan out of
legal status accrues the 1.5 JD/day overstay fine, which must be
paid before departure. END NOTE. In some cases, fines accrued
because the GOJ did not process the paperwork in a timely fashion
after having transferred workers from closed-down factories to new
factories. In other cases, the factory management had not presented
the proper paperwork.
2. (SBU) The GOJ had issued temporary worker permits for these
individuals in August 2007, with the assistance of the Jordan
Garments, Accessories, and Textiles Exporters' Association (JGATE).
Despite the temporary permits, however, workers reportedly felt
hindered by the lack of a permanent work permit and residency card,
not wanting to travel outside QIZ grounds without the proper
paperwork. Such workers were also not allowed to leave the country
until overstay fees had been settled, causing some to apply for and
receive a special waiver of fees for humanitarian reasons from the
Ministry of Interior. The permit issue caused an increasing number
of strikes in the QIZs, demanding that the workers' status be
regularized (reftel).
3. (U) The recent waiver of the fees will now allow the completion
of the regularization process, the modalities of which are still
under consideration by the MOL in consultation with the private
sector. According to MOL, QIZ employers will have to pay for new
work permits for their employees listed on the approved waiver list.
Permits cost JD240 (USD 339) for each QIZ foreign worker, and the
fees will help offset the lost revenue from the waivers. Some QIZ
factories have also already begun sending home some workers whose
contracts have ended or who wish to leave Jordan for family, health,
or other personal reasons.
Visit Amman's Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman
Rubinstein
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EEB/TPP/ABT, NEA/ELA, DRL, G/TIP
STATE PASS TO USTR (CMILLER, AROSENBERG, LKARESH)
STATE PASS USAID
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ECON ETRD EAID KTEX JO
SUBJECT: Jordan Waives Overstay Fees for 6,000 Workers in QIZ
Factories
REF: 07 Amman 4991
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE USG.
1. (U) The Jordanian Cabinet approved February 27 a request by the
Ministries of Labor and Interior to waive approximately JD 6 million
(USD 8.5 million) in overstay fines for over 6,000 foreign workers
in the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs),mainly from South Asia.
According to the Ministry of Labor (MOL),many of these workers
began accruing overstay penalties when their employers went out of
business and left the country due to financial or labor problems
revealed in a May 2006 National Labor Committee (NLC) report. Fines
of 1.5 JD (USD 2.12) per day accrued for every day that the workers
were "illegally" in Jordan. NOTE: Any expatriate in Jordan out of
legal status accrues the 1.5 JD/day overstay fine, which must be
paid before departure. END NOTE. In some cases, fines accrued
because the GOJ did not process the paperwork in a timely fashion
after having transferred workers from closed-down factories to new
factories. In other cases, the factory management had not presented
the proper paperwork.
2. (SBU) The GOJ had issued temporary worker permits for these
individuals in August 2007, with the assistance of the Jordan
Garments, Accessories, and Textiles Exporters' Association (JGATE).
Despite the temporary permits, however, workers reportedly felt
hindered by the lack of a permanent work permit and residency card,
not wanting to travel outside QIZ grounds without the proper
paperwork. Such workers were also not allowed to leave the country
until overstay fees had been settled, causing some to apply for and
receive a special waiver of fees for humanitarian reasons from the
Ministry of Interior. The permit issue caused an increasing number
of strikes in the QIZs, demanding that the workers' status be
regularized (reftel).
3. (U) The recent waiver of the fees will now allow the completion
of the regularization process, the modalities of which are still
under consideration by the MOL in consultation with the private
sector. According to MOL, QIZ employers will have to pay for new
work permits for their employees listed on the approved waiver list.
Permits cost JD240 (USD 339) for each QIZ foreign worker, and the
fees will help offset the lost revenue from the waivers. Some QIZ
factories have also already begun sending home some workers whose
contracts have ended or who wish to leave Jordan for family, health,
or other personal reasons.
Visit Amman's Classified Website at:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman
Rubinstein