Repository of Practices
Primary GCM Objectives
GCM Guiding Principles*
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Dates
2019 - Present
Type of practice
Policy (including law, public measure)
Summary
In light of the ILO General Principles and Operational Guidelines for Fair Recruitment (GPOG), developed by a Tripartite Meeting of Experts in September 2016 and endorsed by the ILO Governing Body in November 2016, and following a national tripartite consultation, Jordanian national stakeholders adopted a zero-fee policy aimed at ensuring that workers do not pay recruitment fees pre, during and post-employment in the garment sector in Jordan. The zero-fee policy, effective from January 2019, was incorporated in Better Work Jordan’s (BWJ) compliance monitoring and reporting in such a way that factories would be reported as non-compliant when the payment of recruitment fees by (migrant) workers is known to occur. The practice also has a positive gender impact given the composition of the workforce in the garment sector. According to the BWJ Annual Report 2022, the sector employed approximately 62,000 workers in 2021, three-quarters of whom were migrant workers with women constituting the majority.
Organizations
Main Implementing Organization(s)
International Labour Organization (ILO)
Jordan Garments, Accessories & Textiles Exporter’s Association (JGATE)
General Trade Union of Workers in Textile Garment and Clothing Industries (JTGCU)
Government of Jordan
Detailed Information
ILO, garment employers, the Jordan Garments, Accessories & Textiles Exporter’s Association (JGATE), General Trade Union of Workers in Textile Garment and Clothing Industries (JTGCU), Jordanian Ministry of Labour
Partner/Donor Organizations
Better Work Jordan
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
United States Department of Labour
Benefit and Impact
According to BWJ compliance reports, the majority of Jordan garment factories have successfully committed to implementing the zero-recruitment fee policy. According to the BWJ report of 2022 (based on data collected in 2021), 86 per cent of factories (based on a sample of 78 factories) were compliant with regard to workers not paying recruitment fees. The majority of factories (91 per cent) were found to have taken sufficient steps to ensure that workers do not pay recruitment fees.
BWJ assessments in factories offer scope for further improvement in that they report that workers from India and Nepal are particularly likely to pay recruitment fees, sometimes reaching as high as USD 1,000.
BWJ assessments in factories offer scope for further improvement in that they report that workers from India and Nepal are particularly likely to pay recruitment fees, sometimes reaching as high as USD 1,000.
Key Lessons
According to BWJ, most factories have shown commitment to the policy, although some factories have been observed as not abiding by the zero-fee policy (mainly in sub-contracting factories). In its 2022 Annual Report, BWJ cited 67 out of 78 (76 per cent) of factories were “compliant” to workers not paying fees. Many employers had reimbursed the workers for the amounts paid, and were therefore cited as compliant. However, some employers explained that although they take different measures to ensure workers do not pay recruitment fees, they still face issues related to recruitment practices in the countries of origin.
On the other hand, many migrant workers are also afraid to disclose information on recruitment fees paid to agents/sub-agents in fear of losing their jobs with the result that such fees are not reimbursed by employers. The inability of some workers to provide any evidence that they have paid recruitment fees may also preclude reimbursement of these fees by employers.
Moreover, the policy covers recruitment fees only and is not applicable to workers paying other costs relating to the recruitment process as identified in the ILO Definition on Recruitment Fees and Related Costs, adopted by the ILO Tripartite Meeting of Experts in November 2018 and endorsed by the ILO Governing Body in March 2019, and which is to be read together with the GPOG. Ensuring adherence to fair recruitment in general is challenging and requires continuous dialogue and collaboration between all stakeholders in countries of origin and destination.
On the other hand, many migrant workers are also afraid to disclose information on recruitment fees paid to agents/sub-agents in fear of losing their jobs with the result that such fees are not reimbursed by employers. The inability of some workers to provide any evidence that they have paid recruitment fees may also preclude reimbursement of these fees by employers.
Moreover, the policy covers recruitment fees only and is not applicable to workers paying other costs relating to the recruitment process as identified in the ILO Definition on Recruitment Fees and Related Costs, adopted by the ILO Tripartite Meeting of Experts in November 2018 and endorsed by the ILO Governing Body in March 2019, and which is to be read together with the GPOG. Ensuring adherence to fair recruitment in general is challenging and requires continuous dialogue and collaboration between all stakeholders in countries of origin and destination.
Recommendations(if the practice is to be replicated)
In Jordan, BWJ is applying the same principle to assess three other manufacturing sub-sectors (i.e. chemical, engineering and plastics) and cite non-compliance if workers paid recruitment fees. The practice of applying the “zero recruitment fee policy” through tripartite agreement among the government, employers and workers is therefore worth exploring in other sectors/ countries.
Jordan’s labour law mentions that it is the employers’ responsibility to renew the work permits of migrant workers, although it does not include any provision on non-charging of recruitment fees to workers. The Instructions of Workers in the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs) prohibit charging any amount to workers; however, they exclude any fees determined by the country of origin of the migrant worker. While improving cooperation with relevant stakeholders in countries of origin to ensure non-payment by migrant workers of recruitment fees across the labour migration corridor is important, the practice encourages the reimbursement by employers of any such fees paid by workers in their countries of origin at destination.
Moreover, the practice can be enshrined on a tripartite basis in a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The 2019 CBA in the Jordanian garment sector, which is currently under implementation, includes for the first time a provision (in Article 9b) prohibiting the charging of recruitment fees to workers.
Jordan’s labour law mentions that it is the employers’ responsibility to renew the work permits of migrant workers, although it does not include any provision on non-charging of recruitment fees to workers. The Instructions of Workers in the Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs) prohibit charging any amount to workers; however, they exclude any fees determined by the country of origin of the migrant worker. While improving cooperation with relevant stakeholders in countries of origin to ensure non-payment by migrant workers of recruitment fees across the labour migration corridor is important, the practice encourages the reimbursement by employers of any such fees paid by workers in their countries of origin at destination.
Moreover, the practice can be enshrined on a tripartite basis in a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The 2019 CBA in the Jordanian garment sector, which is currently under implementation, includes for the first time a provision (in Article 9b) prohibiting the charging of recruitment fees to workers.
Innovation
The practice is innovative because it has been agreed among the principal stakeholders in the world of work (the government, employers and workers’ representatives, through a bottom-up approach, which also contributes to its sustainability. Moreover, as noted in the above section 15) on recommendations, with the support of Better Work Jordan, it has led to similar initiatives in other sectors of employment, which reflects the potential for its scalability. However, there are other sectors in Jordan, such as agriculture and construction, that employ large numbers of migrant workers and where there is no zero-recruitment fee policy in place, with the result that this practice in the garment sector has the potential to be a model for other sectors and thus benefit a wider group of migrant workers in the country.
Additional Resources
Media
Date submitted:
30 March 2022
*References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).