US embassy cable - 02AMMAN6095

UNCLAS AMMAN 006095 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DRL/L - GEORGE SMITH 
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FOR DOL/ILAB TINA FAULKNER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, EIND, ETRD, PHUM, SOCI, JO 
SUBJECT: UPDATE OF CHILD LABOR INFORMATION FOR TRADE AND 
DEVELOPMENT ACT (GSP) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 
 
REF: SECSTATE 168607 
 
1.  As requested in reftel, Post is providing updated 
information on child labor in Jordan.   Post has informed GOJ 
that we are compiling the information for the report.  In 
addition, we will meet with Ministry of Labor officials the 
week of October 21 to discuss further. 
 
2.  During the past year, PolOff discussed the issue of child 
labor with GOJ officials, local NGOs, labor leaders and ILO 
officials.  In general, child labor is not a serious problem 
in Jordan.  There were no significant developments in the 
area of child labor during the past year.  The "worst forms" 
of child labor, as defined by the ILO, are virtually 
non-existent in Jordan. 
 
3.  The following information is keyed to reftel, para F: 
 
A.  Jordan ratified ILO Convention 182 on April 20, 2000. 
The minimum age for employment is 16.  According to Article 
74 of the Labor Law, workers must be 18 for certain types of 
employment i.e. "hazardous, exhausting or prejudicial to 
health jobs" (in accordance with ILO Convention 182). 
 
B.  The Ministry of Labor has a Child Labor Unit and MOL 
inspectors have judicial authority to fine and/or shut down 
companies, according to Article 9 of the Labor Law. 
 
C.  Information requested from GOJ; Post is awaiting a GOJ 
update and will report septel. 
 
D.  The Petra news agency reported October 15 that the 
overall school attendance rate in Jordan is 92 percent, while 
total secondary school attendance is 79 percent.  There is 
compulsory attendance in school to age 16.  The dropout rate 
for Jordanian children is 11 percent, according to the GOJ. 
 
 
E.  In July 2002, the Ministry of Labor issued a 
comprehensive 80 page study entitled "A Report on the Status 
of Child Labor in Jordan" for 2001.  This study included a 
national survey on child labor within the framework of the 
ILO/International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor 
(IPEC).  The report, which is considered reliable by local 
ILO officials and NGOs, states that 1.1 percent of females 
and 13 percent of males aged 15-16 are working.  The majority 
of this child labor is part-time work in auto maintenance, 
"casual work" (such as helping out in family shops) and 
tradecrafts such as carpentry.  "Selling", i.e. street 
vendors, is a growing problem but constitutes a small 
percentage (7 percent) of total child labor according to the 
report. 
 
F.  The number of children working in the "worst kinds" of 
child labor is negligible in Jordan, based on information 
provided by human rights and labor activists.  The Ministry 
of Labor is in the process of developing a strategic plan 
concerning child labor. 
 
GNEHM