Limited QIZ workers return to work

AMMAN — Around 20,000 Qualified Industrial Zone textile factory employees returned to work on Monday in an industry that was hit hard by the Kingdom’s lockdown due to the COVID-19 virus.

The government announced a curfew on March 21 in an effort to contain the spread of the virus and ordered the closure of certain businesses.

“We have been in constant negotiations with the government and examining several scenarios to relaunch the industrial factories, including textile, in the Kingdom,” said Ihab Qadry, the Representative of the Leather and Garment Industry Union at the Jordan Chamber of Industry.

The unionist told The Jordan Times that there are several factories that provide housing units for its employees and “they have not left the establishments since the government imposed a curfew”.

“It only makes sense that we allow these employees, who are already working in closed atmospheres, to return to work since they are already locked in together and they eat together and regularly mix with each other,” Qadry said.

He added that the government sent several teams to examine the factories and provided “us with a list of rules and regulations for the employees to abide by such as requiring two-metres safe distance between workers and other health and safety measures”.

Head of Workers in Textile Associating Fathallah Emrani also applauded the government’s decision to allow factory employees to return to work.

“We realise the difficult situation the country is going through and the government’s decision to allow factories that follow strict health conditions and rules to resume work is an important and needed step,” Emrani told The Jordan Times.

“We agreed with the government and factory employees that if health regulations and conditions are not fully respected by these entities, then the businesses will be shut down again,” Emrani stressed.

Emrani added that he is hopeful that the “gradual opening of a limited number of factories will pave the way for more industries to start their work if they also fully abide by the health regulations”.

Qadry added : “This is a small and slow start to revive the manufacturing industries in the Kingdom so that we make sure our experience succeeds without causing any health hazards to anyone”.

“These new threats that we are facing because of COVID-19 are forcing us to think of how to transfer this new difficult experience into opportunities and to see how we can adapt to the current situation and plan for the future,” Qadry added.