May 15, 2013
A wide range of workers are now part of the new Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Jordan (FITU-J).
Nine unions representing more than 7,000 workers recently held the founding congress of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Jordan (FITU-J), demonstrating a concrete commitment to independent trade unionism as workers in Jordan seek to mobilize for greater political freedom, improved economic conditions and strong social justice.
The conference theme, “Freedom of Association is a Necessity,” underscored how, as Jordanian workers have participated in multiple labor strikes for the right to form unions over the past four years, they are part of the country’s broader movement for democratic change. Although the Jordanian constitution upholds International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions on freedom of association, Jordanian labor law allows trade unions in only 17 sectors designated by the Ministry of Labor.
During the one-day congress, delegates elected as president Azzam Smadi, retired president of the Independent Phosphates Workers Union. Delegates ratified a constitution and articulated principles and priorities, including the goal to pass legislation expanding access to freedom of association and social security. Conference delegates also demonstrated the importance of involving women in the union movement by establishing the FITU-J women’s committee, headed by Wijdan Abu Ighanam, a member of the independent Electricity Workers Union.
The 218 delegates at the April 26 convention were joined by international guests, including a representative from the United Auto Workers Global Organizing Institute and representatives from the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ILO-ACTRAV), Public Services International (PSI), and independent unions from Algeria and Kuwait. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sent a letter of support and AFL-CIO International Department Director Cathy Feingold taped a video greeting.
The nine participating unions represent workers in the phosphates industry and the pharmaceutical industry and also include electrical workers, land transport drivers, printing press operators, day laborers, agricultural workers, engineers’ assistants and Department of Statistics employees.
May 8, 2013
A stunning 73.4 million young workers are estimated to be jobless in 2013, an increase of 3.5 million between 2007 and 2013, according to an International Labor Organization (ILO) report out today. Even worse, the number of unemployed young workers is likely to increase through 2018, with the long-term impact felt for decades, the report forecasts.
“The youth employment crisis will not be overcome without stronger employment growth,” according to “Global Employment Trends for Youth 2013: A Generation at Risk.” But job growth will not happen on its own. The report urges nations to adopt aggressive policies for improving job growth, including strategies targeting employment of disadvantaged youth. Further, nations must invest in education and training, and ensure labor rights are based on international labor standards “to ensure that young people receive equal treatment and are afforded rights at work.”
“Increasing the participation of young people in employers’ and workers’ organizations and in social dialogue and improving their awareness about young workers’ rights— including through modules in school curricula—are key instruments for enabling young
people to voice their concerns and for improving the quality of jobs available to them.”
Among the report’s findings:
• Young workers are increasingly employed in non-standard jobs, including temporary employment and part-time work. Informal employment accounts for half of young workers in the Russian Federation.
• In 2012, youth unemployment was highest in the Middle East (28.3 percent) and North Africa (23.7 percent) and lowest in East Asia (9.5 per cent) and South Asia (9.3 percent).
• Gender gaps in youth unemployment rates are exceptionally large in the Middle East and North Africa.
• In all developing countries surveyed, more young people receive below-average wages than average or above-average wages. This trend is strongest in Cambodia, Liberia, Malawi and Peru, where two-thirds of working young are classified as poorly paid.
• Young people continue to suffer disproportionately from decent work deficits and low-quality jobs, measured in terms of working poverty, low pay and/or employment status
and exposure to occupational hazards and injury.
Underlying the inability of young workers to find jobs, the report finds, is the persistent unavailability of quality, full-time jobs; the proliferation of temporary jobs; a skills mismatch; and the growth of informal, subsistence jobs in developing countries.
Packed with charts and graphs, the 150-page report also includes case studies highlighting best practices for addressing youth unemployment, including Peru’s job action plan and the dual apprenticeship program offered in some European countries.
Jan 2, 2013
As the new year begins, the ongoing global jobs crisis means workers everywhere are still struggling to find employment—some 200 million people, including 75 million age 25 or younger, are unemployed. Millions more, most of them women, are shut out of the labor force. The World Bank’s recently released “2013 World Development Report on Jobs” offers policymakers a new framework for looking at jobs and outlines why jobs that most benefit development can spur a virtuous cycle.
Notably, the report’s recommendations for successful job creation include well-designed labor policies. “Because [economic] growth alone may not be enough, labor policies need to facilitate job creation and enhance the development payoffs from jobs,” the report states. Yet it finds that many nations do not successfully protect worker rights because labor laws often cover only formal employment, and some labor laws deliberately exclude domestic workers, family workers or workers in small enterprises.
A key chapter, “Valuing Jobs,” points out that “the jobs with the greatest development payoffs are those that make cities function better, connect the economy to global markets, protect the environment, foster trust and civic engagement, or reduce poverty. Critically, these jobs are not only found in the formal sector; depending on the country context, informal jobs can also be transformational.”
Both the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) believe the World Bank report makes a positive step toward acknowledging the role of jobs and livelihoods in the development process. Both worker rights organizations also see flaws in the report, especially in its depiction of freedom of association. The ILO says the report raises “freedom of association as a right focused at workplace level, with very little reference to the important role that workers’ and employers’ organizations can play in national social dialogue around policy choices for job creation and development.”
The ITUC noted that the report promotes the concept of “good jobs,” rather than the well-established ILO objective of “decent work,” in which women and men obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity.
The need for world leaders and lawmakers to focus on creating quality jobs is higher than ever.
As the report states, “over the next 15 years an additional 600 million new jobs will be needed to absorb burgeoning working-age populations, mainly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.” Meanwhile, many workers with jobs “do not earn enough to secure a better future for themselves and their children, and at times they are working in unsafe conditions and without the protection of their basic rights.”
