Better Work Jordan
Established in 2008 as a partnership programme of the ILO and the IFC, Better Work Jordan brings diverse groups together - employers, factory owners, trade unions, global brands and governments - to improve working conditions and enhance business competitiveness in the global garment industry.
It strives for an export-oriented Jordanian garment industry that lifts people out of poverty by providing decent work, empowering women and driving business competitiveness and inclusive economic growth.
Better Work Jordan works to strengthen the capacity of tripartite constituents – government, workers and employers – to fulfill their mandates in promoting decent work outcomes. As a first for Better Work, Better Work Jordan tested successfully an innovative labour inspection secondment programme to build the capacity of labour inspectors to conduct high quality inspections. In recent years, the programme has also worked with other technical teams within the ILO, including experts on occupational safety and health (OSH), to equip Ministry of Labor (MoL) inspectors with the tools, skills and knowledge to undertake factory assessments using Better Work methodology. Better Work continues to work hand-in-hand with constituents to address ongoing systemic challenges affecting workers.
In its fourteen years of operations, the programme has made important strides in improving working conditions and industrial relations in Jordan’s manufacturing sector, with a focus on the garment industry. Over this period, the total value of Jordanian garment exports has doubled, and the number of jobs created in the sector has increased significantly despite the challenging operating environment in the region. Today, Better Work Jordan has 97 participating factories of which five are non-garment factories in the plastics, chemical and engineering sectors, reaching 26 brands and retailers.
Currently, the programme is working to consolidate and expand on its achievements while simultaneously equipping the tripartite constituents to take a leading role in maintaining and advancing these achievements. With migrants comprising a large majority of garment workers in Jordan, the programme will also continue to work with stakeholders to uphold migrant workers’ rights by tackling the issues of pay discrimination, living conditions in worker dormitories and deficient recruitment processes. Better Work Jordan’s future interventions to improve recruitment processes will involve new modes of cooperation with stakeholders in sending countries, including governments, worker organizations and other UN agencies.
