Cambodian migrant workers stranded in Jordan returned home after intervention by NGO and Cambodian Gov.
On 31 July, 28 Cambodian migrant workers who were stranded in Jordan returned to Cambodia. The workers have been trapped in Jordan without employment or income for over three months, due to lay-off amidst the pandemic. The workers were employed by Vega Textile Co., Ltd, and Camel Textile International Corporation; two garment factories located in Al-Karak city in Jordan. Their contracts were ended by the respective companies on 17 March 2020.
A statement by the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL) confirmed that according to the unified contract for migrant workers in Jordan, as well as the workers’ verbal agreements with Vega Textile and Camel Textile, the companies are responsible for purchasing flight tickets for the workers to return home. However, the companies failed to honour their agreement with the workers.
As such, CENTRAL called upon the Cambodian government to intervene to facilitate the return of the workers. Accordingly, The Cambodian Embassy in Egypt had cooperated with the Jordanian government and companies’ owners in order to coordinate the repatriation of the workers, as Cambodia does not have an embassy in Jordan. The embassy affirmed that each workers received a flight tickets and USD 3000 of other benefits.