Guest Workers In Jordan Face Persecution

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Workers at a Jordanian textile plant where Victoria's Secret products are manufactured struck mid-November to protest management’s poor treatment. The recent U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement has resulted in an influx of guest workers there, and several American corporations have set up shop. Guest workers go to great lengths to secure work in Jordan, often taking noxious loans to obtain the required $1,500 to $3,000 for a permit.

Those who arrive at the D.K Garments factory in Jordan face extreme work conditions, according to a recent report by the National Labor Committee (NLC). The 150 guest workers at the plant, most of whom come from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, are subjected to 15-hour days with mandatory, underpaid overtime, and an average of only one vacation day every three months.

The factory, which contracts for Victoria's Secret, has not provided residency permits allowing workers to leave the factory grounds. Inside the factory, workers are expected to fashion a woman's bikini every 3.3 minutes, and are paid four cents for each piece. The product is sold for $28. According to the NLC report, workers were abused verbally and physically when their daily quotas were not met. Housing conditions at the factory's dormitories are inhumane, having neither heat nor hot water.

Workers filed complaints with management when they were asked to increase their daily production quota by 43 percent. The factory managers replied by imprisoning six workers who spoke out against the speed-up. The men have been held for weeks. When other workers complained and were ignored, they stopped production even in the face of water cut-offs in the dormitories and threats of deportation by management. Support these workers and contact Leslie Wexner, the CEO of Victoria’s Secret’s corporate owner, Limited Brands, 3 Limited Pkwy. Columbus, Ohio 43230. Phone: 614-415-7000, Fax: 614-415-7080, and email: tkatzenmeyer at limitedbrands.com.