Promoting Decent Work in Global Production: Lessons Learned from the Jordanian Garment Industry

Abstract

This study explores the progress toward decent work (SDG 8) in the garment industry in Jordan. The global garment industry is notorious for recurring labor scandals, and the garment industry in Jordan has historically been no exception. In 2006, a report by an American NGO revealed severe incidents of forced labor, sexual assault and harassment, excessive overtime, and discriminatory wages. The report sparked an international outcry and triggered global and local actions to improve working conditions in the industry. In 2016, international observers reported significant improvements and comparably favorable working conditions. To explore this progress, a case analysis of the Jordanian garment industry was conducted with a focus on the perspective of suppliers. Pertinent questions centered on the factors that enabled their decent work improvements and those that hindered further progress. Twenty interviews with corporate, institutional, and labor stakeholders, observations of industry events, and review of relevant documents and publications informed a qualitative explanatory case study analysis. A crossvergence perspective served as the theoretical basis for the analysis. This theory predicts that global and local influences interact at the factory level to shape the work practices of suppliers. Accordingly, the results illuminate the multiple-level developments needed to promote decent work in Jordan. Public, business, and labor stakeholders on global, local industry, and factory levels shaped decent work realities in Jordan. The results confirm the importance of previously well-researched influences such as global and local labor regulation and labor agency. They highlight the necessity of resources and financial viability at the factory level to translate global and local demands into decent work progress. Over and above, they illustrate the significance of a third-party mediator and advisor, Better Work Jordan, for aligning the multiple-stakeholder influences on suppliers.