Originally established in 2008 at the Jordanian government’s request, Better Work Jordan (BWJ) is a joint initiative of the International Labour Organization and the International Finance Corporation. The overarching aim of the project is to improve labour standards and enterprise performance in the Jordanian apparel industry.

During the first phase of the project which spanned five years, BWJ focused on improving the lives of tens of thousands of workers by driving sector-wide, sustainable improvement in adherence with Jordanian labour law and international conventions on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. In addition, BWJ promotes the business competitiveness of the apparel sector in Jordan within the global supply chain by assessing participating factories against core International Labour Standards (ILS) and national labour law to identify compliance requirements and recommend improvements in systems to support proactive management of compliance as well as providing advisory and training services on how to improve compliance by increasing workplace cooperation. At a industry level, BWJ also engages stakeholders to ensure long-term sustainability of factory improvements.

Objectives

Increase workers’ development by strengthening the quality and consistency of the project’s core services;
extend the impact of the project beyond the factory level to increase long-term sustainability and economic output of the garment export sector; and
enhance its long-term financial viability of the project’s core services.

Main Activities


At the factory level, BWJ’s activities are comprised of two core services: Identifying the needs of enterprises to bring them in line with ILS and provision of advisory and training services. BWJ aims to strengthen the quality and consistency of these core services to:

• Extend core services to all factories involved in exporting apparel from Jordan including direct exporters and their sub-contractors;
• introduce a systems-based approach as central to the continuous  improvement of factory processes, especially in the area of human resource management;
• identify areas of common need through factory assessments to offer a variety of training programs supported by factories and buyers for both managers and workers;
• facilitate stronger relationships between buyers and suppliers to develop joint approaches that improve conditions for workers as well as factory productivity and competitiveness; and
• revise BWJ’s core factory services model to focus on advisory, training, and systems improvement as the basis for factory ownership and sustainable change.

At the industry level, BWJ supports stakeholder organizations which represent the government, workers and employers to:

• Enhance industrial relations and social dialogue;
• expand collaboration with the Ministry of Labour;
• increasing Jordanian employment in the garment sector;
• influence public and private sector policy debates through interventions at the factory level as well as through its impact assessment agenda;
• work with key stakeholders to eliminate practices that can be associated with forced labour and discrimination at work; and
• maintain buyers’ engagement through the Annual Buyers Forum to discuss sectorial priorities.

Outcomes


• Provide decent work to improved the lives of garment workers Jordan;
• BWJ’s assessment, advisory and training services have been a driver of change towards higher compliance with national labour law and international labour standards; and
• Better Work has extended its impact beyond the factory level so that the industry becomes more stable in the long-term and contributes more to the Jordanian economy and society.

Impact

• Steady improvement of factory compliance with ILS and Jordanian labour law;
• implementation of a new collective bargaining agreement; and
• establishment of a unified contract for garment migrant workers;
• establishment of the first workers’ centre in Jordan;
• development of a long-term strategy for the garment sector; and
• a marked increase in the number of international brands that source garment products from Jordan.