2008 CHILD LABOR UPDATE FOR JORDAN

UNCLAS AMMAN 000189

SIPDIS

STATE FOR DRL/ILCSR TU DANG
STATE PASS DOL/ILAB TINA MCCARTER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID JO
SUBJECT: 2008 CHILD LABOR UPDATE FOR JORDAN

REF: A. STATE 127448

B. AMMAN 3388

C. AMMAN 1661

D. 06 AMMAN 8967


1. (U) Summary: The Government of Jordan (GOJ) has taken some
positive steps recently to combat child labor, including the
development of a national strategy to eliminate the worst
forms of child labor. A number of existing laws seek to
prevent child labor and provide punishments for those who
exploit children; however, available legal remedies and the
GOJ's capacity to implement and enforce child labor laws are
not sufficient to adequately deter violations and punish
violators. Several laws also require amendments to conform to
Jordan's obligations under international labor conventions.
The GOJ participates in several projects aimed at reducing
child labor, including the provision of non-formal education
to out-of-school youth. Estimates on the number of child
workers vary greatly, but they are primarily found working as
street vendors, mechanics, painters, and carpenters in the
larger, more industrial cities of Amman, Zarqa, and Irbid and
in agriculture. Civil society contacts believe that child
labor has increased slightly in the past couple years due to
a combination of high unemployment and inflation; however,
there is some optimism among governmental and non-government
organizations that the trend can be reversed. A strong
reason for this optimism is the GOJ's active support of the
new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) child labor project, which
aims to reduce the number of children from the worst forms of
child labor in the near-term while strengthening capacity,
technical skills, and coordination at the national level to
combat child labor. End Summary.

Jordan's Child Labor Policy
--------------


2. (U) The GOJ has recognized the existence and problem of
child labor and has developed a strategy to combat child
labor. It also includes the elimination of the worst forms
of child labor as a goal in other national platforms.

-- A National Strategy for the Elimination of the Worst Forms
of Child Labor was developed in 2004 by the Ministry of Labor
(MOL),with ILO support and in consultation with a range of
stakeholders. The strategy analyzed the situation and
suggested a range of measures. Implementation has been
extremely weak, in part due to weaknesses in legislation,
lack of government capacity, and lack of effective
coordination among authorities.

--The Jordanian National Plan of Action (NPA) for Children
2004-2013 aims to eliminate the worst forms of child labor by
2014 and to decrease the number of all child laborers.

-- Jordan's National Agenda 2006-2015 reinforces the national
child labor strategy by also including a goal to eliminate
the worst forms of child labor. The National Agenda includes
500,000 JD ($700,000) to combat child labor through labor
inspections and vocational training centers offering free
courses to 16-18 year olds.

-- A code of conduct to combat child labor was announced in
July 2007 with support from both public and private sector
representatives. The code, developed as part of the ILO
program to combat child labor, highlights areas of concern,
including health and safety hazards, and explains how
employers can turn away fathers seeking employment for their
children.


3. (U) Basic education is compulsory and free until the age
of 16 (10th grade). The two years of secondary education are
free but not compulsory. However, students must pay school
fees every semester to cover the costs of uniforms, book, and
some supplies. The fees are 20 JD ($28) for primary, 30 JD
($42) for secondary, and 40 JD ($56) for vocational
education. Local experts feel that opportunity costs for
education combined with direct costs of school fees and
additional school supplies creates a barrier for children of
poor families, especially girls. (Note: Current overall
primary attendance rates are 95 percent for primary and 75
for secondary. End Note) Children that have dropped out for
three or more years are not allowed to return to school if
they are 13 or older. Despite compulsory education, the law
contains no penalties for parents whose children drop out of
school.

Laws and Regulations Related to Child Labor
--------------


4. (U) No new laws or amendments were adopted in 2008 to
address the issue of child labor, but a number of existing
laws include articles relating to the prevention of child
labor or the prosecution of offenders:

-- The labor law forbids employment for children under the
age of 16, except as apprentices. Children under the age of
18 may not work for more than six hours continuously, between
the hours of 8 pm and 6 am, or during weekends, religious
celebrations, or national holidays. Children are also
precluded from working in hazardous occupations, which
include operating machinery, heavy lifting, and working in
extreme temperatures. The definition of hazardous work dates
to 1997, however, and needs updating to take into account the
worst forms of child labor, such as forced labor conditions.

-- Article 5 of the Law of Service Personnel in the Armed
Forces of 1972 stipulates that a person must be 16 years of
age to be recruited into the military. In practice, the Armed
Forces do not recruit individuals under the age of 18;
however, this law must be amended to conform with the
Optional Protocol to the Convention of the Rights of the
Child, which Jordan ratified.

-- Article 4 of the Social Security Law stipulates that
children working in the informal sector, tourism, and
agriculture or assisting the family in domestic service are
not included in social security.

--Article 310 of the Penal Code stipulates that having any
type of unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman under 20
years of age is punishable up to three years in prison and a
50 JD ($70) fine. (Note: Article 311 includes an up to three
year prison term for procuring a female of any age. End Note)
Trafficking-in-children is not specifically prohibited;
however, Articles 287 and 291 outline punishments related to
abduction of children with punishments up to 3 years in
prison and 25 JD ($35) fine. A comprehensive anti-trafficking
law was approved by Cabinet in December 2008. The next step
is for Parliament to vote on the draft law. (Ref B).


5. (U) Jordan endorsed ILO Convention 182 on the elimination
of the worst forms of child labor in 2000; however, the MOL
must update its current list of hazardous jobs to conform to
the worst forms of child labor as stipulated in the
convention. Jordan also ratified the Convention on the Rights
of the Child in 1991, and in 1998, ILO Convention 138, which
specifies the minimum working age for children.

Implementation and Enforcement of Regulations
--------------


6. (U) The GOJ's capacity to implement and enforce child
labor laws is not currently sufficient to adequately deter
violations; however, MOL officials have indicated that there
are plans to address these deficiencies in the coming months.

--The MOL's Child Labor Unit (CLU) is tasked with
coordinating government action regarding child labor,
including the receipt and investigation of child labor
complaints. The CLU, however, is currently staffed by one
person, who is unable to direct labor inspections or
coordinate efforts across ministries. The National Steering
Committee for Combating Child Labor is not active, but the
DOL child labor project plans to reintroduce this
coordination mechanism.
--Each labor inspector is required to cover four areas during
inspections; child labor, labor relations, occupation safety
and health, and general labor situation. The MOL hired 60
additional labor inspectors in 2008 to bring the total to
140, and MOL officials have indicated that they plan to
recruit 25 more inspectors in the next couple months.
Inspectors are mandated to perform inspections covering all
registered institutions regardless of the number of
employees. (Note: Social security inspections exclude
establishments where the majority of children are employed -
those employing 5 workers or less and establishments in the
informal sectors, such as agriculture, small family
businesses and domestic services. End Note) Inspectors
receive limited training on child labor, including
identification, as part of their overall training.

--The Public Security Department (PSD) does not have any
officers specifically assigned to investigate child labor,
and they do not actively conduct any related investigations.


7. (U) MOL officials have indicated they are finalizing plans
to restructure the inspectorate, which should result in
enhanced child labor inspections. Currently, there are 21
labor offices country-wide that conduct inspections; however,
all but three, must also perform other MOL functions,
including related to the recruitment of Jordanian and foreign
workers The plan is to establish seven to nine regional
inspection offices with the sole task of conducting
inspections leaving the current labor offices to carry-out
the other functions. Inspectors will also be instructed to
set aside a couple of weeks each year to conduct only child
labor inspections. The plan also calls for two additional
workers in the CLU and a small child labor office to be
created in each inspection office to better coordinate
efforts.


8. (U) Legal remedies available to government entities are
also not adequate to punish and deter violations.

--Article 77 of the labor law sets out a penalty of 500
dinars ($700) for the illegal recruitment and employment of
children. The fine is doubled if the offense is repeated.

--In a diplomatic note dated December 1, 2008, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs (MFA) informed Post that no child labor
complaints have yet been received because Article 77 has not
yet been "activated." Dr. Amin Wreidat, Head of the MOL
Inspectorate Division, told Poloffs that complaints are not
received, as neither the employer nor family, who depends on
the child's income, would file a complaint.

--Some fines have been issued for child labor violations,
according to Dr. Wreidat; however, the MOL is unable to
provide the number of citations or the total amount of fines
because records are not computerized. The $2.7 million,
5-year USAID-funded Better Work Program intends to help the
inspectorate install new software that will allow for
tracking by type of violation.

--Inspectors often handle child labor cases informally
instead of issuing fines. Dr. Wreidat told Poloffs that the
law needs to be amended to offer positive solutions not just
negative punishments. He said that if a fine is issued, the
employer would only be out a small amount of money but the
child and his/her family would suffer from the loss of
income. As a result, inspectors reportedly attempted to
remove the child from dangerous work, seek agreements with
the employer to continue the child's education, or find other
positive solutions and alternatives to loss of income.

Social Programming
--------------


9. (U) The GOJ supports several initiatives aimed at reducing
child labor. Questscope, working with the Ministries of
Education (MOE),Social Development (MOSD),and Labor and
with support of multiple donors, continues to be the primary
organization in Jordan working to eliminate child labor by
providing education opportunities and mentoring to
out-of-school youth:

--Non-formal Education (NFE) Program: The program, launched
in 2004, gives out-of-school youth the opportunity to earn a
10th grade equivalent certificate, which is a requirement for
applicants to vocational school. The NFE course is divided
into three, eight-month levels of instruction. The student
must pass a proficiency exam before moving to the next level.
There are currently 3,000 children attending 36 NFE centers
across Jordan, and the DOL child labor project will form 10
more centers and improve 10 existing centers. The MOE has
approved NFE as an official education curriculum, and MOE
officials have indicated a commitment to taking over their
operation. The MOE is currently operating 13 of the 36
centers. This and Questscope's other programs are also
serving Iraqi children.

--Informal Education Program: The first level of NFE
instruction can be completed through a community-based
organization (CBO). Questscope has trained seven CBOs to
teach reading, writing, math, and other basic courses. The
DOL project will increase the number to 23. After finishing
the informal education instruction, a child can enter the
second level of NFE instruction upon passing a proficiency
exam. The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) has provided
municipal facilities for the CBOs to conduct the classes.

--Mentoring Program: Since 1998, Questscope has implemented a
program to match out-of-school youth with adult mentors. The
mentor and child meet regularly for one-on-one meetings as
well as recreational and education opportunities. To date,
3,200 volunteer mentors have been trained with 3,100 boys and
girls mentored.


10. (U) The Social Safety Center in Sahab, established by the
Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) in
2005, provides non-formal education to working children
between the ages of 13 and 15. The center also provides
remedial classes to struggling students to keep them from
dropping out of school. Five hundred students are enrolled
but the center's director, Nihaya Dabdoub, states that more
than 1,500 drop-outs are on a waiting list. The project is
implemented in coordination with the GAM, the MOL, MOE, and
the local community and employers. The MOE identified nearly
2,500 drop-outs in Sahab between 2005 and 2007 and, with the
help of labor inspectors, the center was able to locate most
of the students. The center is operating beyond capacity with
a two-shift system (girls in the morning and boys in the
afternoon) and is need of larger facilities, including five
classrooms and a bigger computer lab.


11. (U) The Information and Resource Center (IRC) of the King
Hussein Foundation was established by Queen Noor as the
National Task Force for Children. Based on child labor
research, the IRC launched a project in 2007 that provides
training for CBOs in five targeted communities to address the
needs of child laborers and provide interventions to address
child labor. The project receives funding from the EU.


12. (U) The National Aid Fund (NAF),which operates Jordan's
cash assistance programs, does not specifically target
families of working children, although it does assist
families that might be highly susceptible to child labor due
to their poor economic situation. The fund operates several
programs to support the needy such as the Recurrent Cash
Assistance Program to assist certain categories of people,
including families of widows, inmates, and estranged women,
and the Emergency and Exceptional Program to assist the poor
in times of specific need, such as illness or death of a
family member, during Ramadan, and beginning of school year.


13. (U) The MOSD operates an anti-vagrancy campaign to
decrease the number of beggars, including child beggars.
Child beggars are vulnerable to exploitation by their parents
and those wanting to hire them. Detained children must be
picked up by a parent, who must sign an agreement that their
children will no longer beg. Fines and penalties are not
given to parents but, if they receive NAF assistance, their
assistance can be stopped.

The Child Labor Problem in Jordan
--------------


14. (U) Estimates of the number of working children (ages
five to 17) vary significantly from around 30,000 to nearly
100,000. The Department of Statistics (DOS) calculated the
number to be 32,676, of which 36 percent worked in mechanical
repair, 27 percent in agriculture, 8 percent in construction,
and 4 percent in hotels and restaurants. The survey also
stated that 32 percent lived in Amman, 89 percent were males,
and 91 percent were Jordanian citizens. (Note: The survey was
conducted in early 2008 but full results have not yet been
released). In April, the National Center for Human Rights
estimated the number to be approximately 50,000. Several
activists working on child labor issues told Poloff that
these estimates are too low and did not adequately capture
reality by failing to survey businesses fully or account for
families that hide the fact their children work. Questscope
also disagrees with official numbers and uses the number of
school-age dropouts, around 90,000, as an indication of how
many children are at least partially employed. The students
have pointed to the type of professions (street vendors,
carpenters, painters, agriculture, and mechanics) and cities
(Amman, Zarqa, and Irbid) where child labor is more prevalent.


15. (U) Economic hardship is seen to be the primary
contributing factor to child labor along with the quality of
education. In fact, 66 percent of respondents in the DOS
survey said a working child was contributing to the overall
household income and 38 percent listed this fact as the
primary reason for their child working. Several contacts told
Poloff that child labor has probably increased slightly in
the past couple years due to inflation and continued
difficulties in family members finding employment
opportunities. The DOS survey also indicated that 85 percent
of working children dropped out of school between the ages of
12 and 17.


16. (U) The most common risks faced by working children,
according to a MOL survey on the worst forms of child labor
released in February 2007, are heavy machinery, noise
pollution, poor lighting, and exposure to chemicals. The same
survey estimated that 13 percent of working children are
subject to forced labor with the average number of hours
worked per week at 42. Salaries were also significantly lower
than the minimum wage of 150 JD ($210) per month. The average
monthly salary among working children was 81 JD ($113) while
16 percent earned less than 50 JD ($70) per month.

17) (U) Comment: Looking ahead, there are positive signs that
the GOJ and civil society are committed to reinvigorating
efforts to combat child labor. GOJ involvement in and
commitment to the DOL-funded child labor project was cited as
a source of optimism by many contacts. The project aims to
withdraw 4,000 children from the worst forms of child labor,
prevent another 4,000 from entering, increase public
awareness of the issue, establish a national coordination
mechanism, and strengthen the ability of national actors to
fulfill their roles. The MOL's continued effort to improve
labor inspection capacity and quality and the MOE's
commitment to adopting and increasing non-formal education
opportunities are also reasons for optimism. Post will
continue to engage on and support the above initiatives as
well as changes to national legislation required to give
authorities the necessary tools to prevent and deter child
labor. End Comment


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