From the SelectedWorks of PIYASIRI WICKRAMASEKARA November 6, 2014 Migration governance challenges in a middle income country: The Jordanian experience PIYASIRI WICKRAMASEKARA Available at: https://works.bepress.com/piyasiri_wickramasekara/16/
Migration governance challenges in a middle income country: The Jordanian experience Presentation: METROPOLIS 2014 Workshop Migration in MENA - Business as usual or new openings for decent treatment (WS320) Milan, 3-7 November 2014 By Piyasiri Wickramasekara Global Migration Policy Associates (GMPA) piyasiriw@globalmigrationpolicy.org (former Senior Migration Specialist, ILO) 1
Structure of presentation Jordan background Jordan mixed bag of migration: emigration, immigration and refugees Profile of migration and migrants Key challenges Lessons from upper middle income countries Improving governance, protection 2
Key messages There is a yawning gap between policy and practice Governance of migration policy is weak, fragmented and unfocussed Foreign workers should not be scapegoats for ills of the economy. Emigration of skilled workers brings remittances at the same time ensures regime stability by minimising political activism & dissent Refugee flows constrain choices Which way to move GCC, MENA or Europe 3
Issues and challenges facing Jordan A complex migration regime - immigration of foreign workers, emigration of nationals and substantive inflows of refugees Middle income country migration challenges - migration institutions not fully developed to deal with complex migration situations. E.g. Lebanon, Malaysia, and Thailand Labour market challenges high unemployment- youth Distinctive features Open door policy to Arab neighbours: 2/3 of migrants Egyptian. Refugee acceptance Syria and Iraq but not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention Different from high income GCC more similarities with Maghreb Jobs for Jordanians a prime consideration: 16 occupations closed to foreigners 4
National employment Strategy 2011-2020: Issues raised a)outflow of skills and inflow of low skills affects the economy adversely. b)migrant workers currently compete with local workers.. c) Emigration of skilled national workers may hamper economic transformation, and competiveness of the economy. d) Use migrant workers to complement, not substitute for Jordanian workers of similar skills pricing and incentives for making foreign workers expensive. 5
Key labour Market Indicators Year 2006 2010 2012 Size of the labour force 1,227,237 1,412,134 1,443,563 Employed 1,055,847 1,235,948 1,268,093 Total unemployed 171,390 176,186 175,470 Unemployment rate 14.0% 12.5% 12.2% Unemployment rate - males 11.9% 10.4% 10.4% Unemployment rate - females 25.0% 21.7% 19.9% Revised economically active rate 37.7% 39.5% 38.0% Revised economically active rate Males 36.1% 63.5% 61.3% Revised economically active rate Females 11.9% 14.7% 14.1% Number of registered foreign workers 289,724 298,342 279,798 Ratio of foreign workers in labour force 23.6% 21.1% 19.4% Minimum wage in Jordanian dinars 110 150 190 Number of workers in QIZs 54,062 35,941 39,279 Share of foreign workers among total Qualified industrial Zone workers 68.5% 77.4% 78.1% 6
Table 5 :Annual Numbers of Registered Foreign Workers by Gender Year/Gender Males Females Total workers Share of females % 2000 101,943 8,637 110,580 7.8 2003 123,290 25,533 148,823 17.2 2004 184,988 33,768 218,756 15.4 2005 229,567 32,214 261,781 12.3 2009 280,506 55,202 335,708 16.4 2010 248,449 49,892 298,341 16.7 2011 229,343 50,920 280,263 18.2 2012 222,286 57,512 279,798 20.6 2013 226,204 59,993 286,197 21.0 7
Jordanian residents and workers in oilproducing countries: 2008-2009 Dept of Statistics estimates (residents) Ministry of Labour 2008 (workers) UAE 250 000 54,834 Qatar 27,000-36,000 30,748 Kuwait 42,000 18,888 Oman Not available 3,396 Saudi Arabia 250,000-300,000 50,928 Libya Not available 3,060 TOTAL 500,000 600,000 164,854 Source: (De Bel-Air, 2011), p.8 8
Remittance inflows and outflows US$ million Year Inflow Outflow Net inflow 1976 411 20 391 1980 794 154 640 1985 1,020 236 784 1990 499 71 428 1994 1,090 93 997 1995 1,437 107 1,330 2000 1,845 197 1,648 2005 2,421 349 2,072 2008 3,510 472 3,038 2009 3,465 502 2,963 2010 3,517 495 3,022 2011 3,368 439 2,929 2012 3,490 460 3,030 2013 3,643 457 3,186 2014e 3,754 % of GDP 2013 10.8 World Bank, Remittance dataset October 2014. 9
Table 25: Major legal instruments relating to migrant workers in Jordan Interim Act No. 26 of 2010 Act amending the Labour Code 2009 2009 Regulation of Domestic Workers, Cooks, Gardeners and Similar Categories, No. 90/2009: published on 1 October 2009. By-law No. 89 governing the employment of non-jordanian domestic workers by the private recruitment agencies 2009 Law No. 9 on Prevention of Trafficking in Persons 2009 Foreign Workers Recruitment Regulation 2008 Law No. 48 amending labour law 2005 and 2007 Regulations concerning the employment of foreign workers 2003, Unified Standard Contract for all migrant domestic workers Labour Law of No. 8 of 1996 1973 Law No. 24 on Residence and Foreign Nationals Affairs, modified by Amendment n 90 of 1998 1954 Law No. 6 on Nationality, amended in 1987 1952 Constitution of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and amendments 10
Jordan s migration laws better than in most GCC countries. Agricultural workers and domestic workers have now been included in labour law 2008 labour law reform The social security law applies to migrant workers. Workers can join trade unions according to the labour law amendment of 2010 but Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait introduced earlier Labour inspection services covering migrant-employing sectors have been revamped.. It is the first country in the Middle East to develop a standard contract for domestic workers in 2003. It has signed bilateral MOUs with origin countries since the 1980s. Migrant workers (except domestic workers) are covered by minimum wage legislation. The Ministry of Labour has introduced a multilingual Hotline for complaints by migrant workers. The Jordan Better Watch project closely monitors working conditions and labour laws compliance in the garment industry 11
Jordan is no different from GCC? a) The gap between law and practice is much wider in Jordan. Enforcement is very weak, and laws do not make much difference at the ground level. Tamkeen (2010) described domestic workers and QTZ workers as the weakest link. b) The requirement of employer clearance to change jobs or leave at the end of the work contract - major problem leading to vulnerability, abuse and exploitation of workers by employers and recruitment agencies. - leads to forced labour situations. Moreover the worker has to pay a fine while the employer has no responsibility. c) Non-payment of wages, delayed wages and non-payment for overtime are common issues reported by workers. d) Trafficking and forced labour practices persist despite new laws. Passport confiscation is widespread although not legal. e) Complex regulations have the unintended consequence of generating further irregular migration situations. Workers fall into irregular status often through no fault of their own. 12
Issues of concern re migration Widespread abuse and exploitation of migrant workers: forced labour practices and violation of basic human rights agricultural workers; domestic workers.; workers in irregular status; garment workers better protection Egyptian workers poor conditions of work and rights Lax law enforcement recruitment abuses Rigid work and residency permits and need to renew each year: fines imposed on workers for non-extension although employer responsible. Kafala system features employer clearance for job change and exit from country Bilateral MOU provisions not respected 13
Jordan and Upper middle income country challenges Lebanon, Malaysia, South Africa, Thailand Similarities All emigration & immigration countries. High demand for low skilled workers Migration institutions, and protection mechanisms not developed for proper migration governance High levels of irregular migration 14
Differences from other UMIEs Relative openness to foreigners, especially to citizens of Arab countries Serious unemployment problem 14% of labour force. Only Lebanon and South Africa share high unemployment rates. Longer history of emigration and immigration than some of the countries. High dependency on emigration and remittances than for other UMIEs. Malaysia and South Africa have negative net remittances The legislative framework for governance and rights is better in Jordan than in some of these countries although enforcement gaps make the differences marginal. 15
Towards an improved migration policy Focus on three objectives Improving governance through coordination and policy coherence Promoting and protecting migrant worker rights Promoting development benefits of migration Remittances Engaging the expatriate communities Encouraging return of talents 16
Improving the governance of labour migration Requires action on four areas: Improving the institutional framework: better coordination within ministries a joint council Improving the legislative and regulatory framework gaps and ratifying migrant worker Conventions Addressing critical enforcement gaps through better inspection, capacity building and cooperation with concerned stakeholders. Promoting bilateral, regional and international cooperation 17
Improving protection Break the link between work permits and residence permits renewals. Abolish the requirement for employer clearance to leave at the end of the contract period or change employers Issue specific Regulations for agricultural workers as envisaged in the Labour Law of 2008 Use the labour inspection system to improve working conditions of migrant workers, and not to check their irregular status Train judges, prosecutors, and all law-enforcement personnel in human and labour rights of migrants in line with international norms and national legislation Protection and support services for Jordanian workers abroad, especially GCC countries Mobilize the support of employers and workers organizations to protection of migrant workers 18