Forgotten Rights: the Working and Living Conditions Of
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Forgotten Rights THE WORKING AND LIVING CONDITIONS OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN JORDAN 1 2 Contents The Working and Living Conditions of Migrant Workers in the Agricultural Sector in Jordan Executive Summary 11 Methodology 28 Tamkeen Research Team 28 Quantitative Study 29 Qualitative Study 30 Chapter 1 Introduction: Overview of the Population of Migrant Workers in 34 Agriculture Brief Historical Perspective on the Presence of Migrant Workers 36 in Agriculture o Urbanisation and Movement of the National Workforce 37 Towards the Service Sector o Major Development of Intensive Agriculture in the 39 Jordan Valley through New Irrigation Planning o Active Governmental Policy for the Recruitment of 40 Egyptian Workers in Agriculture o Repulsion of the National Workforce Towards Manual 41 Work The Current Labour Market of Migrant Workers in Agriculture 42 3 o Work Permits Delivered to Migrant Workers in 42 Agriculture o The Complexity of the Informal Labour Market in the 43 Agricultural Sector . Permit Holders in Irregular Situations 44 . Work Permits Granted vs. Undocumented 46 Workers . Impact of the Influx of Syrian Refugees on the 47 Shape of the Labour Market in Agriculture o Educational Background of Migrant Workers in 48 Agriculture o Areas of Origin of the Workers Interviewed 49 o Age and Family Status 50 o Professional Occupations and Salaries in their Home 51 Country Chapter 2 Part 1: Human Rights and Labour Law Standards 54 Introduction 54 Human and Children’s Rights Standards 56 o Non-Discrimination and Equality as Fundamental 56 Components for the Protection of Human Rights . Non-Discrimination Principle 56 . Equality before the Law and Equal Protection of 58 the Law without Discrimination . A Comprehensive Definition of the Term 58 “Discrimination” . Formal and Substantive Discrimination 59 . Direct and Indirect Discrimination 61 . Permissible Scope of Differential Treatment 62 o Enhancing the Rights of Migrant Workers 62 o Abolishing Child Labour and Ensuring Access to 63 4 Education . Abolition of Employment of Children Under the 63 Age of 16 Years . All Children have the Right to be Protected 63 Against Economic Exploitation . All Children have the Right to be Protected 64 against the Worst Forms of Child Labour . Schematic Overview of the Protection of 64 Children against Labour . Protection for Children Working in Family 65 Enterprises and Agriculture . Weak Penalties against the Recruitment of 65 Children in Jordan . From Child Labour to Education 66 o Freedom of Movement 67 o Combating Forced Labour 68 o Combating Human Trafficking 70 o Right to Adequate Housing and Decent Living 72 Conditions o Right to Effective Remedy 73 Labour Law Standards 74 o Right to Work 74 o Right of Workers to not Pay for their Work Contract 74 o Obligation of the Employer to Issue Work Permits 75 o Right to be Paid on Time 75 o Right to Keep Personal Documents 76 o Right to be Paid Overtime 77 o Right to Safe and Healthy Working Conditions 78 o Right to Access Social Security 79 o Right to Form and Join Trade Unions 80 5 o Right to Rest, and Take Leave and Vacations 81 o Right to Resign and Leave Work with our without 82 Notice o Right to Resign under a Limited Period Work Contract 83 o Right to Sick Leave 84 Refugee and Asylum Law 84 o Specific Rights and Principles Established by the 1951 85 Convention o Equal Treatment in Respect to Some Rights, According 86 to the 1951 Convenon o Status of Refugees in Relation to Work According to 88 International Standards . Labour Legislation 88 . Social Security 88 . Employment and Trade Unions 89 . Self Employment and Housing 89 o Status of Refugees According to Jordanian Law 89 Chapter 3 Part II: Global Perspective on the Working and Living Conditions of 92 Migrant Workers in the Agricultural Sector An Exceptional Legal Status and Recruitment Process 94 o Agricultural Migrant Workers: A Population Subject to 94 Special Regulations o Legal Procedure for the Recruitment of Migrant Workers 95 in the Agricultural Sector o Holidays 99 o Exceptional Rules Applicable to Egyptian Nationals 100 . Special Recruitment Procedure for Egyptian 100 Nationals . Official Work Contracts Applicable to Egyptian 103 6 Workers o Provisions focused on the duty of the 104 workers o No information regarding the workers’ 104 rights and employers’ duties under Jordanian law o Delayed signature by the employer 105 o $250 Mandatory Deposit to Cross the Border at Aqaba 105 o Ban on Family Visits for Egyptian Workers in the 106 Agricultural Sector o Clearance Procedure Specific to Egyptian Workers 107 Working and Living Conditions 109 o Presence in Jordan 109 o Recruitment 111 . Types of Recruitment 111 o Formal Recruitment without 111 Intermediaries o Formal Recruitment with Occasional 112 Intermediaries o Formal Recruitment by a Private 112 Agency in Egypt o Fraudulent Recruitment of Egyptian 113 Workers o Informal Recruitment 116 o Lack of Information on the Kind of Work to be 116 Performed o Reasons for Working and Staying in Agriculture 117 o The Role of Networking in the Recruitment of Workers 117 in Egypt o Overall Recruitment Costs Covered by Migrant Workers 119 in Jordan 7 Official Salaries vs. Unofficial Salaries 121 Use of Salary 125 o Daily Expenses 125 o Remittances 126 Working Hours and Payment of Extra-Hours 128 Delayed Payments 129 Social Security, Health and Safety at Work 129 Main Problems and Difficulties Faced by Workers in their 131 Relationships with Employers Participation in Trade Unions 133 Housing and Living Conditions 134 o Housing Conditions 134 . Plastic Houses 134 . Tents 136 . Rooms in the Farms 136 . Rooms in Compounds 137 o Accommodation Prices 138 o Activities of the Workers During Free Time 139 o Family and Social Life 140 o Challenges Faced by the Workers Since Arrival in Jordan 142 and Life Improvements Chapter 4 Part III: Categorical Perspective on the Working and Living Conditions 144 of Migrant Workers in Agriculture Migrant Workers in Regular Situations: High Vulnerability to 146 Forced Labour and Human Trafficking Egyptian Workers in Irregular Situations: Escaping Harsh 149 Working Conditions Syrian Refugee Families: Exploitation of Distress 151 8 o Movement Between the Jordan Valley and the 152 Highlands in Order to Find Work o Vulnerability of Syrian Refugees in Relation to Work 153 o Vulnerability of Syrian Refugees as Families 154 . Families Who Cannot Fulfill Basic and Vital 154 Needs . Child Labour and Lack of Access to Education 155 . High Risk of Gender Based Violence 156 . Pakistani Families: Inadequacy between the Law and their 157 Actual Situation o Unique History and Characteristics 157 o Farmers Sustaining Their Own Economic Activities 158 o Difficulties in Purchasing Vehicles and Obtaining Driving 159 Licenses o Lack of Access to Education Among the Children of 159 Pakistani Families General Conclusion 161 Recommendations 167 Human Trafficking and Forced Labour 167 Child Labour 168 Gender-Based Violence 169 Legal Status and Legal Protection of Workers in Agriculture 169 o Fraudulent Work Contracts (“Free and Commercial 170 Contracts”) Departure of Workers from the Farms 170 Housing and Living Conditions 170 ANNEX I: 173 QUESTIONNAIRE 9 10 EXCUTIVE SUMMARY This report is the result of unprecedented quantitative and qualitative research on the working and living conditions of migrant workers in the agricultural sector in Jordan, and serves as the first stage of a broader project to promote and protect the rights of migrant workers in this sector. The study has been funded by the European Union, coordinated by ARCS-Culture and Development, and implemented by Tamkeen Fields for Aid. It is based on individual interviews with 324 agricultural migrant workers, 17 field visits to work sites, and 12 interviews with main stakeholders, including ministries, farmers’ associations, embassies and international organisations. All research was conducted in full cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Agriculture, and farmers’ associations. In particular, the agricultural sector has the highest proportion of migrant workers among the major economic sectors recruiting foreigners, namely agriculture, manufacturing, construction, hotels and restaurants, and personal and social services.Formal employment of migrant workers in agriculture represented 68% of the workforce in this sector in 2009.1 The presence of migrant workers in agriculture dates back to the 1970s and their proportion in the labour market has since been gradually increasing. There are four combined reasons for the high participation of migrant workers in the agricultural sector in Jordan: 1) An urbanizaon of the overall populaon, combined with a movement of the national workforce towards the service sector in the mid-1970s; 2) Major developments in water management and irrigation of the Jordan Valley and, to some extent, the Highlands since the 1980s; 3) An acve governmental policy for the recruitment of a foreign workforce from 1985 to the late 1990s; 4) The recent repulsion of the national work force towards manual work. 1 Department of Statistics, Employment and Unemployment Survey 11 In 2011, of the 32% of the 280,263 work permits granted to foreigners by the Ministry of Labour were allocated in agriculture and fishing. Among the 89,414 work permits delivered for agriculture, 97% were given to Egyptian nationals. The main remaining nationalities with work permits in this sector were Pakistani (1,857), Bangladeshi (333), Indian (143), Yemeni (118), and Syrian (95). The migrant workforce in the agricultural sector in Jordan is distinctly composed of a vast majority of males. In 2011, 99.5% of the work permits were granted to men, while only 389 women received work permits. The women that received these work permits were mainly of Pakistani nationality. A geographical repartition of the issuance of work permits indicates that a third of the work permits for agriculture were delivered in the Balqa Governorate, while almost half of the work permits in this sector were distributed in the Governorates of Amman, Zarqa, Irbid, and Mafraq.