Jordan Times
Sunday, October 7, 2001
Investors applaud decision to cut work permit fee in QIZs
By Suha Ma'ayeh
AMMAN — Faced with a lack of skilled local manpower, investors and executives at the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs) welcomed a recent government decision to cut in half the work permit fee for foreign labourers.Although hiring foreigners is costly in the long-term, investors say that the temporary measure reducing the work permit cost to JD150 for one year is a step in the right direction.
The permit fees, however, would be hiked to JD225 in the second year and back to JD300 in the third. While many investors are enticed by the duty- and quota-free access to the US market, QIZ factories initially launched their operations with 50 per cent of the labour force made up of foreign workers.
A recent study by the Exports and Finance Bank showed that Asian investors hired Chinese, Indian, Sri Lankan and Pakistani labourers who were more productive and experienced, especially in the garment industry.
But QIZ factories have been training Jordanians in order to replace expatriates, who require additional accommodation costs as well as a work permit fee.
Today, local workers comprise 70 per cent of the over 20,000 total labourers employed at the zones.
“We cannot blame Jordanian labourers for lacking the industrial basics; they are good, but training them requires more time,” said Mansour Khawaja, the Pakistani general manager of the Haramin Factory in Irbid's Al Hassan Industrial Estate.
“In the long-term, hiring foreign workers is very expensive, but we need them in order to survive.”
Of the 400 workers operating in his factory, 125 are Indian and Sri Lankan female labourers. The rest are Jordanians.
A sample study conducted by the Jordan Investment Board (JIB) on 13,000 labourers working at various QIZs showed that 15 per cent of employees in various QIZs do not regularly show up for work. Despite repeated attempts, the JIB declined to make the findings of this study available.
JIB sources said local labourers are accustomed to the “agricultural mentality,” and need time to be trained. This refers to farmers' tendency to work on their own time.
Depending on the geographical location of the zones, investor Rami Qusous at Century Miracle — one of the largest factories operating at Al Hassan Estate — said local workers operating in QIZs close to the capital could face competition from foreigners because they tend to be skilled.
But in other areas where there is a shortage of labour, the decision is unlikely to affect the prospects of job opportunities for Jordanian labourers.
“The rights of Jordanian workers are secured since the decision is temporary and helps transfer know-how,” he said. “Any skilled Jordanian labourer is more economical [than a foreigner].”