The Labour Ministry will require all Qualifying Industrial Zone companies to join a pioneer project to assess the QIZ sector’s abidance by international and local laws and treaties governing the labour sector, Labour Minister Ghazi Shbeikat said on Monday.
Under the "Better Work Jordan" project, launched by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in June 2008, a specialised team of experts from the ILO will be deployed to evaluate QIZ factories that join the project and assess their compliance with rules and regulations intended to secure better working conditions and more rights for workers, as well as to identify obstacles hindering the enhancement of the work environment, Shbeikat explained.
Shbeikat, who earlier this week presented a report to the US Congress on Jordan's strategic plan for compliance with international labour standards, told reporters during the ministry's weekly meeting with the media that the project will help companies improve their competitiveness, and will attract more buyers from countries concerned with labour rights and working environments.
"Customers, in general, and US buyers, in particular, are very concerned about doing business with companies abiding by international work standards. So far, only 19 QIZ factories and companies have joined the project and we aspire to cover the entire QIZ sector under the project's objectives," the minister added.
He highlighted that the ILO team will be tasked with identifying weaknesses and strengths in each company and will issue recommendations on the best means to address loopholes, adding that companies will be issued a certificate by the ILO confirming their abidance with relevant labour laws, while ILO teams will follow up on these companies to ensure sustained compliance with regulations.
Currently, each company seeking to join the programme has to pay $3,000 to the ILO, the minister said, adding that once a decision is made to universalise the project across the entire QIZ sector, the ministry will discuss with the ILO the possibility of cutting the project fees by half.
Under the "Better Work Jordan" project, launched by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in June 2008, a specialised team of experts from the ILO will be deployed to evaluate QIZ factories that join the project and assess their compliance with rules and regulations intended to secure better working conditions and more rights for workers, as well as to identify obstacles hindering the enhancement of the work environment, Shbeikat explained.
Shbeikat, who earlier this week presented a report to the US Congress on Jordan's strategic plan for compliance with international labour standards, told reporters during the ministry's weekly meeting with the media that the project will help companies improve their competitiveness, and will attract more buyers from countries concerned with labour rights and working environments.
"Customers, in general, and US buyers, in particular, are very concerned about doing business with companies abiding by international work standards. So far, only 19 QIZ factories and companies have joined the project and we aspire to cover the entire QIZ sector under the project's objectives," the minister added.
He highlighted that the ILO team will be tasked with identifying weaknesses and strengths in each company and will issue recommendations on the best means to address loopholes, adding that companies will be issued a certificate by the ILO confirming their abidance with relevant labour laws, while ILO teams will follow up on these companies to ensure sustained compliance with regulations.
Currently, each company seeking to join the programme has to pay $3,000 to the ILO, the minister said, adding that once a decision is made to universalise the project across the entire QIZ sector, the ministry will discuss with the ILO the possibility of cutting the project fees by half.
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق