“Jordanian employees in the sector, who constitute less than one-third of the
QIZ workforce, however, will have priority for keeping their positions, he
stressed. .
”
.”For example, one QIZ firm seeking to restructure has 22 Jordanians in its
1,000-employee factory. If approved, the layoffs will be at the expense of guest
workers whose contracts are expiring, according to Emrani..
”
.”The short-term impact of the financial crisis on Jordanian workers will be
minimal,” Emrani said, noting that the number of Jordanians serving in QIZs has
been dropping in recent years from a high of 23,387 workers in 2004 to 10,467
last year. The number of expatriate labourers, meanwhile, increased from 24,749
in 2004 to over 38,000 in 2006..
”
.”In order to change their terms and conditions, QIZ firms must refer to a
committee comprising representatives from the Labour Ministry, the General
Federation of Trade Unions and the Chambers of Industry and Commerce which
examine companies’ requests and presents recommendations to the labour minister
for action..
”
.”According to the Labour Ministry, nine garment factories within the QIZs have
so far applied to the committee for such changes, which could include
layoffs..”..
Date:2/12/2009
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