Jordan's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States has apparel exports soaring to America with twenty fold increase in last five years.
Foreign workers in Jordanian factories that produce garments for Target, Wal-Mart and other American retailers complain of dismal conditions, of 20-hour day, not being paid for months and hit by supervisors and jailed when they protest.
An advocacy group for workers says that some apparel makers in Jordan, and some contractors that supply foreign workers to them, have engaged in human trafficking.
The advocacy group, the National Labor Committee, based in New York, found sub standard conditions in more than 25 of Jordan's roughly 100 garment factories. Its findings were supported in interviews with current and former workers.
Jordan has recently become a magnet for apparel manufacturers, due to privileged trade status accorded by the United States. This was because of its 1994 peace accord with Israel and free trade agreement signed with Washington in 2001.
Jordan's apparel industry, which exported $1.2 billion worth of goods to the United States last year, employs tens of thousands of guest workers, mainly from Bangladesh and China.
Largest retailer in the United States, Wal-Mart, and one of the leading clothing makers, Jones Apparel, confirmed that they discovered serious problems about conditions at several major Jordanian factories.
Beth Keck, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, said the company did not own or manage factories, but tried to improve working conditions in Jordan and elsewhere.
marketing@alchempro.com
