Contact:
Merissa Khurma
202-265-1606

Embassy of Jordan- Washington, DC
Information Bureau

February 15, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jordan Highlights Labor Improvements at
World’s Largest Fashion Trade Show

Las Vegas, NV – Representatives of the Ministry of Labor for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan today wrapped up several days of successful meetings and outreach with buyers and media designed to inform audiences about the unprecedented steps the Government of Jordan has taken over the past 18 months to improve labor compliance and administration. The meetings were held during MAGIC, a biannual fashion trade show that attracts over 100,000 attendees.

Buyers and the international community have been anxious to see how Jordan would respond to the allegations of labor violations that were first leveled against Jordan’s apparel manufacturing industry in 2006 by the activist National Labor Committee (NLC).

Even the harshest critics admit, Jordan is handling the situation appropriately – acting swiftly and decisively, and with a transparency that is surprising to skeptics.

“Everyone I spoke with seemed impressed with our action plan and the steps we’ve taken so far,” said the Minister of Labor’s advisor, Lejo Sibbel, who met with many of Jordan’s key buyers and held a press conference during the Las Vegas event. “Although not every allegation by the NLC proved accurate, the fact that Jordan has accepted responsibility for those that were accurate, and taken steps to remedy them, is paying great dividends with our buyers and I think increasing our credibility with the media.”

Some of those steps included a 16 percent increase in the minimum wage for apparel workers, establishing a multi-language hotline to register and assist with worker complaints, improving the Ministry’s ability to support factories in their own compliance efforts, and the launch earlier this month of the ILO Better Work Jordan Project – a broad initiative to improve compliance through public reporting and factory assessments.

The meetings in Las Vegas came on the heels of successful events the Minister of Labor, His Excellency Bassem Khalil Al-Salem, held in New York and Washington, DC with buyers, the media, and representatives of the U.S. government, including several Members of Congress. At those events Minister Al-Salem released a report that details all of Jordan’s improvements in labor compliance.

The report, “Labor Administration and Compliance in Jordan: A Multi-stakeholder Collaboration,” was well-received, and the Government was consistently praised for its hard work and clear dedication to labor issues.