Part of this post part is of a reseearch that I published in venture Magazine in July 2007 (I think). The article is called out of Sync. I have chosen parts of it for today’s post.This article was heavely edited… so don’t be surprisedif it looks professional!

            The question of labour rights is something that has been constantly on my mind lately. Mostly because I have recently joint the labour force in Jordan… well obviously I am not in the blue collar sector. I have a highly respectable position at a highly respectable sector. However being one of  millions of people who earn their living by doing actual work,  makes me wonder what the situation is in the blue collar sector if this is how it is in the white collar sector.

           I have several thoughts that I would like to share in the coming few months,  but today I would like to start at a very safe place: the culture of shame.

           I am one of those who don’t believe in the culture of shame. I add my voice to those who claim that this is an expression invented by the government to cover their failure to solve concrete problems, such as unemployment, low wages and human rights violations; and what better exit  than blame the people?

Picture taken from my window

Decoding the “Culture of Shame”

           In a study conducted by the Ministry of Labour a few years, the disconnect between available Jordanian jobseekers and vacant jobs is addressed partly as a logistical challenge, and partly an entrenched social reality.

            “This mismatch comes from the geographical distance between job opportunities and job seekers,” said Ghada Salem, (She was an economic researcher at the Ministry of Labour, as well as a Procurement Officer at the World Bank when this article was originally wrote). The research also shows that the general impression is that the productivity of Jordanians is lower than the productivity of foreign workers. Not only that, but that Jordanians have higher expectations from job opportunities in terms of benefits and positions. “Sometimes even if there are opportunities, it is difficult to find Jordanians who are willing to take up these jobs, partly because of their expectations and partly because of the culture,” said Salem.

           In one of the projects that I managed a few years ago; I was faced with a situation that almost  made me fall in the trap of believing in the culture of shame. The project was  a 24-month experimental initiative aiming to link unemployed women with work opportunities through helping them understand their own skills using the portfolio of competences model.  

            The project hasn’t been simple. Local training coordinator Mrs. Ibdah from Wadi Al Rayan in Northern Ghor told Venture, “These women do not want to work. Don’t waste your breath on them.”

           The program had administered an eight week skills training to 30 women for jobs in local textile factories in Irbid, and I couldn’t understand why the women declined jobs after completing training. “They all were very excited about the possibility of steady income less than a week ago,” Ibdah  said. “Now that we have found them opportunities in the textile industry, most of them used their male kin as an excuse for not working in the factories.”

            The negative perception of working in factories is not uncommon; as research conducted by the Economic Research Unit at the Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) of the University of Jordan showed that Jordanians refuse to work at a number of jobs.  69 percent of the unemployed in Jordan refuse to work as agricultural workers, 82 percent refuse to work in construction, 79 percent as building guards, 71 percent as messengers for companies and 75 percent would not work as waiters.

           Whilst these attitudes may seem arbitrary, the research shows that a clear majority of the unemployed males would accept these jobs (with the exception of cleaning) at a salary of 200JD per month. The study suggests that the primary aversion of these jobs is not the commonly referenced Jordanian “culture of shame,” but the meagre financial returns associated with these sectors.

           This is one important explanation for the challenges presented by the women of Wadi Al Rayan. After internal research, participants admitted that some of their reluctance to work is related to transportation fees that they have to bear in order to travel to their work places in Irbid. “I will take home about 100 JDs after all the deductions, the bus from al Wadi to Irbid costs around 120 Piasters everyday. This leaves me with about 70 JD at the end of the month,” said Mrs. Khateeb, one of the target women. “It is just not worth it.”

Insecurity Kills the Economy

          Low wages alone don’t tell the whole story. Poor benefits, a perceived lack of stability and difficult working conditions also drive a wedge between Jordanians and growth industry jobs. Many unemployed simply don’t have faith in the private sector’s ability to provide for them and their families.

            Construction is such an example. Despite the fact that 23.8 percent of the labour force is in construction, Jordanian participation has declined almost 50 percent between 1987 and 2003, due to unattractive salaries and working conditions. Today, the vast majority of those currently working in this sector are non-Jordanians.

           According to a study by the European Training Foundation, the overwhelming majority of business enterprises in Jordan are small: 94 percent have four or fewer workers. And few small companies can match the benefits of being employed in the public sector. “I can be sacked any time in the private sector, but in the public sector, I have both the stability and the benefits,” said Mahmoud Abdallah, an unemployed young man from Irbid.

            Insecurity is one of the most prominent reasons cited by the Wadi Al Rayan target women. In order to take a job in the Irbid factories, the women needed to surrender a significant portion of their guaranteed National Aid income. In the end, this proved unattractive.

             Dr. Ahmad Kafawen (was the general manager of the National Aid Fund at the time) explained that a household of five or more receives a monthly allowance JD156.  If the head of the family starts working, this allowance will be decreased by the amount of the monthly salary. This means that if a woman heads a family, she will actually take home less money—after transportation costs—than if she stayed at home. Furthermore, there is a clear government policy that if a woman refuses a job opportunity, she would lose her national aid anyway. The result is that most women do not attempt to look for jobs. 

             Perhaps this helps explain the appeal of the public sector and the Armed Forces. The jobs are considered very stable, and the benefits offered are attractive; including social security, retirement plans and health insurance, for both the worker’s nuclear family and parents.

               “Young men work at the factories temporarily, they stay around till they get a job in the public sector, and they take them, even if the payment is less,” said Mohamed Injadat, General Manager of a textile factory in one of the QIZs in Al-Ghor. “They feel that jobs at the public sector are more secure.”

 Domestic Disturbance

              The vast majority of domestic helpers in Jordan are non-Jordanians. According to a new report by the Ministry of Labour’s information and studies department, the number of legal domestic helpers in the country is just over 38,000, of which some 18,000 are Indonesians, 11,000 from Philippines, 8,000 Sri Lankans and 350 Egyptians. Jordanians avoid this growth sector for many reasons, but most prominent are deep-seated concerns about working conditions. (I wonder how relevant is the resistance from several countries, such as India, SriLanka, Philppines… etc to send domestoc workers to Jordan related to the working conditions? I think, this was coming eventually)

             As current Jordanian labour law excludes domestic workers, plentiful circumstantial evidence suggests that they are rife for mistreatment. Article Three of the National Labour Law states that “servants who are working for houses, their gardens, their cooks…and those of similar capacity,” are excluded, explains Mr. Amjad Wishah, Director of Migrant Workers Directorate. 

            He says the exemption aims to preserve the private nature of the home: “It is difficult to send inspectors to supervise the labour in private houses. However, we are aware of the problems that rise from the current situation; we are working on a mechanism to include them in the law while respecting the home’s privacy.”

            The exemption has understandable impacts on Jordanians’ willingness to be domestic workers, says Assem Rababa’a, Head of Aballah, a human rights organization advocateing for Arab rights in Israel. “The nature of work, which requires women to sleep at the employer’s house, long hours, low financial returns and the fear of abuse are all reasons why Jordanians don’t allow their daughters to work in this sector.”

             Faced with low salaries, the home governments of domestic workers in Jordan are stepping in. The Philippines Ministry of Labour has increased the pay scale of domestic workers to $400 a month effective March 2007. Louisa Reyes, a Welfare Officer at the Embassy of Philippines in Amman, pointed out that when the salaries were first increased, the government hoped that families who could afford a larger salary would be more educated, thus decreasing the likelihood of abuse of Filipina workers. 

           Physical, psychological and verbal abuse is alarmingly common, according to Reyes. “Of the complaints we get [from domestic workers], 40 to 50 percent …are about physical abuse. And another 10 to 15 percent are about sexual abuse.”

                 To investigate the life of a foreign domestic worker is to delve into unpleasant stories. The Embassy hears complaints that live-in domestic workers are rarely allowed to leave the house, visit their friends or go for a walk. It’s not unheard of in Jordan that they are even locked up in empty apartments. In some cases, families (and/or employment agencies) go as far as confiscating the domestic worker’s passport, further hindering their ability to defend themselves.

Clever Can Go a Long Way

           The labour crisis in Jordan is forcing organizations to find innovative solutions. One example comes from the NGO community. In response to the difficulties presented by the Labour law exemption, one project is training Jordanian women to be domestic workers, but avoiding private homes altogether. Izdihar, funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, focuses on professional office cleaning. By avoiding domestic settings, the project faces the “culture of shame” that hinders the free movement of women from conservative areas and implying disrespect for manual and blue-collar work.

              Izdihar attracts unskilled women, trains them for 4 months and then certifies them. “We are starting training course number twelve,” said Nawal Khalil, the Project Coordinator. “85 percent of our trainees find jobs, mostly in hospitals and hotels, however families still do not allow their daughters to work in houses,” she said. Once these women were given favourable wages, social security and health insurance, resistance from their families faded.

              The Greater Amman Municipality found an ingenious solution to workers’ reluctance to work in the sanitary sector. Mr. Ali al-Askar, Deputy Manager for the District Affairs at the Municipality pointed out that the Municipality needed new strategies to encourage Jordanians to work in the sector. First, the city changed the job title for sanitation workers, from Cleaning Officer to National Officer. By locating employees’ regular routes neighbourhoods other than their own removed much of the stigma of their work. These changes, coupled with a small increase in salaries and monthly productivity awards dealt with a major taboo. 

            Mr. al-Askar said that the Municipality does not have exact figures, but he says the shortage in the number of sanitation workers has eased.

            GAM’s successes don’t discount the notion that big initiatives may be required in other sectors. With efficient implementation, the impact of the Ministry of Labor’s new plan to recruit 30,000 unskilled workers—via the Army—for training in the construction sector could make waves throughout the industry. The plan calls for trainees to receive all the benefits afforded to military personnel during the project’s duration.

              This will provide Jordanian unemployed youth with the sense of security they search for, when they are seeking employment, and in the long term, they will have more benefits if they stayed with the armed forces,” said Shawkat Ababneh, the Deputy Manager for the National Training and Employment Center.

Source:  Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) of the University of Jordan

October 2008

We have finally joint the 70,000 Jordanian families that have foreign live-in domestic workers. Irani, is 23, smart and ambitious. She started her studies in economics at the university, and is here to save enough money to be able to go back to school…. I picked her up when she arrived…

And for a split of a second, I imagined myself going into a new place… where I know nothing at all… I don’t speak the language, and where I am supposed to move in with some completely random family … lets say I can understand why she looked bewildered.

October 2009

Rani is still here; we managed to become friends during this last year. By now I know her life story. She still impresses me with her intellect, intelligence and her subtlety. I also know that her mother is here in Amman, she does not live far away from us… she is a cook at some wealthy household.

Today, Rani told me a very strange thing about her mother… she mentioned that even though she is the cook, her employers made her sign a very strict contract that stipulates she is not allowed to taste or eat any food at home. They give her 5 JDs every week to eat!  FIVE JDs  for the whole week!  While  these fat, ugly pathetic excuses of human beings spend extravagantly on their meals… Rani has mentioned several times before the kind of  meals her mothers cooks, the luxury items her employers export from abroad…Salma spends her entire day cooking! Literally!

Does anyone knows how much cooking this is?!

Salma laughed embarrassed as she explained how she  sometimes desires the food she cooks… but since there are 2 other maids there, one of them works as a spy… she actually can’t eat any food… so she has been feeding on Tuna cans, Endomy Noodles and other crap from the supermarket… she obviously does not want to spend her salary…. understandably, she travelled thousands of miles with her daughter  in order to save enough money so that her 3 kids  (including the daughter) can go to university and don’t have to clean people’s toilets for the rest of their lives!

I know it sounds horrible, but I found myself hoping this family will suffer from high cholesterol and high blood pressure, so that they start eating non-tasty food and desire things they can’t eat… maybe then, they can understand what they have been making this human being go through every single day last year.

Apparently Jordan is so known for our creative abuse methods when it comes to domestic help, that someone went ahead and wrote an article about it on Wikipedia….  Human trafficking in Jordan…

Yup this is how we want Jordan to be known on the world’s map! Fabulous, eh?

I can see Nas rolling his eyes!

I was at Queen Alia airport, coming from Egypt. As I picked up my bag and went out of the immigration door, I came across a huge zaffe, with the dancers and the drums and the horns… the whole nine yards really!… the party was waiting for an Egyptian couple moving to Amman.

While waiting for the couple to come out, I chatted with an Egyptian lady with the party. I was told that the groom had been living in Amman for a few years.   He went back home and brought his beautiful young bride with him. It was all delightfully romantic.

That happy look in her eyes caught my attention; she was thrilled by the promising possibilities of the future.

I remember thinking how excited she must have felt. She probably felt the world revolved around her that moment.  What a chic start, she was moving into a new country fully made up… wearing the white laced-dress, she probably had dreamt of wearing all her life… I wondered about the scene before boarding the plane in Cairo… were her parents with her? Was the scene emotional?

A twinge of pity hits me whenever I look into these pictures… I almost feel sorry for that young lady, coming into the unknown with so much optimism! Looking forward to being with her handsome groom, looking forward to having her cinderalla- like life… every time, I find myself hoping she is happy wherever she is, and praying that had kept her optimistic look and happy smile.

Whenever I see the picture, I think of another young Egyptian lady, who moved to Amman around the same time. Hiyam helps clean my sister’s house. She  is young and had so many illusions when she moved to Amman…

Someone would hardly believe the home she moved to in Amman.  It is in the garage of a very prosperous Deir- Ghbar building.  This automatically, means that Hiyam who grew up in some Egyptian village, has to live huddled together with her husband and her future children (they are two by now)  in an 8-sq meters room. This very room also includes the bathroom, the kitchen, dining room and is more cluttered up and unaired than any common rat hole. …ohh and they also get to breathe the cars fumes as bonus. One could safely say they are not living there; they are rather COOKING. 

The husband is a guard, who has to wake up at 3 AM to carry one of the tenant’s jackets. He is expected to 24/7 for 140 JDs. Hiyam  did not go back to Egypt since 2006, because her husband’s contract does not include a vacation… the month he is away, he needs to bring another guard to replace him, and thus no salary for one month.

Hiyam helps him by cleaning houses for living… she hates how west Ammany  madams lead frivolous, useless lives…how they are really not as classy as they try to convey to the world… this is manifested by their love to shout …but what she hates most is when they misplace their things and accuse her of stealing them…

Malgre tout, Hiyam is a cheerful human being… She thanks God that she has a roof above her head and a loving husband at her side!

This lady is in so much trouble. Racisim, Abuse, Theft, Fraud she signed that they take 1000 $ but only gives them 100 minor exploitation and molest 7azha il m3atar the maids are 16 and 17! … you name it! I was surprised… actually I was so fascinated with the story that I caught myself jumping around saying Bravo 3aleihom!! She deserves it!

I mean come on… vive la revolution!

This reminded me of a something related. When I went to France last year. This French guy was telling us how he was horrified when he was in Beirut at how they abuse the maids… and he went into a detailed description how maids are being hit, sleep in balconies or in the kitchen floor, sometimes raped…how they work non stop for hours and hours and then get slapped or bashed if anything goes wrong… I remember seeing all those appalled expressions on those pretty French faces. I was so ashamed to say that these stories are very familiar in Jordan, so I pretended to be as surprised and horrified as the French and heard myself repeating words like “Really?! They do this in Beirut?! “ OH MY GOD!” “How could anyone be so cruel?” “How could humanity stoop so low!!?”

Maids in Jordan and other places apparently are treated like slavesor maybe worse! Even in the most CHIC families, where everyone is so elegant and refined, where the lady of the house is so busy with charity, the master is a very prominent member of society, the sons are successful and the daughters are beyond attractive and smart!… you would see the maids living in totally unstylish conditions… so if you have a maid, and your maid works more than 8 hours a day and she does not have her own bed and gets slapped or yelled at for only 100$ then …. BEWARE… Because you are just another person who fell into the hypocrisy and the trap of dehumanizing the maids and you are in contradiction with human rights, and amnesty international and international law and maybe… just maybe one day you will find yourself in as much trouble as our Saudi friend is!