Development of OSH Guide for agriculture sector and training of trainers

General Background

Overlapping drivers of displacement worldwide have coincided and increased the scope, scale and complexity of displacement. Approximately 25.4 million individuals are recognized as refugees who have fled their homes due to a well-found fear of persecution. This is alongside millions of internally displaced persons and those who have fled their homes but are not recognized as refugees by the 1951 Refugee Convention. In response to the considerable challenges posed by forced displacement, a strategic partnership, named PROSPECTS, was established by the Government of the Netherlands in 2019, bringing together five partner organizations, namely IFC, UNICEF, ILO, UNHCR and the World Bank. The partnership spans eight countries and covering a five-year period (2018-2022). The combined efforts of the five partner organizations endeavour to bolster the medium- and longer-term development goals for host communities and forcibly displaced persons to access quality and market-relevant education; decent work and enterprise opportunities; and comprehensive protection systems

PROSPECTS IN JORDAN

Jordan is facing a historic forced displacement crisis and as the crisis extends into the next decade, the country is at an inflection point, given the scope, scale and protracted nature of the displacement. Through Prospects, partners will undertake interventions that will align with national strategies, helping to mitigate the impact of the current displacement crisis on both refugee and host communities, with a longer-term goal of supporting human development through support to increased economic opportunities, wider access to quality education and stronger protection mechanisms. As of January 2020, Jordan hosted over 745,000 refugees, including over 655,000 Syrians and almost 100,000 other nationalities. Children represent a little over half of the refugee community. With refugees constituting almost seven per cent of Jordan’s population, the Kingdom is one of the top refugee-hosting countries per capita worldwide.

Through the PROSPECTS partnership, the five partners aim to leverage their comparative advantages and areas of expertise to programme complementary and interdependent interventions that address three areas where challenges negatively affect the livelihoods and well-being of Jordanians, refugees and other vulnerable groups: education, employment, and protection. Through an in-depth theory of change process, the combined efforts of the organizations will endeavour to bolster the medium- and longer-term development goals for Jordanians, refugees and other vulnerable groups to access quality and market-relevant education; decent engagement, work and enterprise opportunities; and comprehensive protection systems, which will, in turn, support more sustainable livelihoods, in line with Jordan’s national plans. Integrated into the joint programme is systematic learning and knowledge management that will feed into future planning, the scaling up of innovative approaches, and ultimately transform the way partners respond to displacement crises.

ASSIGNMENT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Within the framework of the PROSPECTS partnership in Jordan, the ILO supported the provision of the Agricultural Workers bylaw (Regulation No. 19 of 2021) which was issued and published in the Official Gazette and became effective as the 5th February 2021. The issuance of the Agricultural Workers bylaw constitutes a qualitative and historical leap in the development of rights and protections for workers in Jordan’s agriculture sector and in the field of regulating the relationship between employers and workers in the sector. Until its approval, agriculture work had been excluded from the provision of the Labour Law, during which time agricultural workers suffered from the absence of legal protections or oversight. The bylaw provides a legal basis for improving the working conditions of workers in the agricultural sector, many of whom are amongst the poorest and most vulnerable. PROSPECTS had taken early steps to facilitate its application including an awareness raising campaign on educating employers, workers, and relevant national institutions, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions, and the Jordan Cooperative Corporation about the items contained in the regulation. In addition, PROSPECTS piloted a TOT training on the ILO’s “OSH tool for cooperatives” aiming to build the capacity of agriculture cooperatives to support provision of OSH at the farm level.

Later to the bylaw provision, two instructions had been issued (1) Instructions concerning the Inspection of Agricultural Activity Promulgated under Articles 14(a) and 17 of the Bylaw for Agriculture Workers1[1]; and (2) Instructions concerning the conditions and measures of OSH at the agriculture work sites of 2021 Promulgated under the provisions of Articles 11 and 17 of the bylaw for Agricultural Workers. Under the latter, both agriculture and workers shall take all the necessary procedures and measures of occupational safety and health in order to secure the agriculture work environment to prevent all risks[2].

[1] http://www.mol.gov.jo/AR/List/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA

[2] Same reference MOL website above

In addition, the Agriculture Law No. (13) of 2015[1] and its amendments was issued to organize the agricultural sector and define the responsibilities and main objectives of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) within this. The law also specifies plant and animal health measures including the regulations to the entry and exit of agricultural products, registration and production of pesticides. In addition to plant varieties, fertilizers, growth regulators, pest control methods and plant quarantine; and all relating to animal production, animal health, veterinary quarantine, and others. Based on this law there have been some regulations and instructions provided including instructions for the manufacturing of veterinary medicines, life preparations, and veterinary pesticides and their registration, licensing and circulation. These also specify the basis for licensing, handling, registration, import and the export of pesticides and agricultural chemicals among others.

Nonetheless, the Agriculture Law and other regulations and instructions does not address the occupational safety and health of the user (the agricultural worker) and instead focuses on the specifications of chemicals and their residues in products, registration, testing and so on. However, some departments within the Ministry of Agriculture have provided technical guidance for farmers such as the extension services to the farmers on how to protect themselves while spraying, but these were based on the staff member’s knowledge and is not structured as part of their job description[2].

In order to address this gap, in 2023 the ILO developed an Occupational Safety and Health Guide in Agriculture for both Lebanon and Jordan. While the Lebanese version was validated, the Jordanian version was put on hold until the new amendments of OSH regulations would be endorsed. The amended OSH regulations include:

• The Occupational Safety and Health bylaw and prevention of occupational hazards
• The bylaw of preventive and curative medical care for workers
• The bylaw pertaining to the forming of OSH committees and appointing OSH supervisors
• A guide for identifying types of sources of occupational hazards in the work environment, precautions and measures required for prevention
• A guide for classifying and determining the degree of risk of economic activities/sectors
• Guidelines for assessing risks in the work environment
• Guidelines for the protection of pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with disabilities, and people who perform night work.
• Other guidelines and ministerial decisions pertaining the above mentioned.

The ILO has recently engaged in discussions with both MoA and MoL to update the existing guide. Therefore, the ILO is seeking to hire a consultant/OSH expert to develop an updated version of the Occupational Safety and Health Guide in Agriculture based on the already existing version and other tools available at the ILO targeted to trainers, farmers, and farm workers.

[1] https://moa.gov.jo/AR/List/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86

[2] Based on meeting with MOA staff

SCOPE OF WORK AND METHODOLOGY

The consultant will update the existing OSH guide in agriculture utilizing the available ILO tools in agriculture and incorporating the local national legislation and regulations on OSH and the recent amendments. OSH in agriculture includes, but not limited to fruits, vegetables, field crops, animal production, forestry and fisheries, and agricultural practices and work systems around them. To this end, the consultant will:

Objective 1: Update the previous draft version of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) guide in agriculture

Tasks associated with this objective:

• Update the introduction part of the guide outlining Jordan’s country context in OSH and policy, legislation, and practice of OSH in the agriculture sector based on the new legislation amendments.

• Review the following documents and conduct a short desk review on OSH in agriculture:

• The ILO Practical OSH tool for agricultural cooperatives developed for Jordan

• The global OSH ILO manual on “Work Improvement in Neighbourhood Development”

• Previously adapted OSH in agriculture materials developed in the region (to be provided to the consultant by the ILO)

• Actively engage with the committee formed for the purpose of this guide. This committee will include members from the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the Ministry of Labour (MoL) and the ILO to discuss and identify the priority areas of each ministry, including but not limited to:

• OSH basics

• OSH regulations in Jordan

• OSH procedures required from the employers and employees

• Classifying agriculture subsectors and works according to risks

• OSH monitoring,informing, and response mechanisms

• OSH coordination between the two ministries.

• Update the OSH basics part of the guide, as well as update the procedures required from the employers and employees based on the new legislation’s amendments.

• Adapt the agricultural practices and update the work systems examples and case studies from manuals to ensure they reflect the realities in the country and sectors, and expand to also include forestry and fisheries.

• Developing two new chapters: (1) classifying agriculture subsectors and works according to risk; and (2) monitoring,informing, response mechanisms and coordination among two ministries.

• Validate the guide with respective partners and ILO.

• Develop a shorter version of the guide to be used to train farmers and farm workers on OSH in agriculture.

• Compare the new amendment with the old legislation (approximate 2-page comparison, separate to the guide).

  Objective 2: produce training materials for trainers based on the developed guide.

  Create training material for trainers based on the developed guide that targets MoA staff, MoL inspectors, cooperatives, trade union members, and other partners to create a pool of trainers.

Objective 3: conduct two workshops:

• The first 2-day workshop is for presenting and validating the guide with stakeholders in Jordan, and later integrating feedback to be reflected in the guide.
• The second workshop is to conduct a 5-day training of trainers (ToT) on the finalized guide using the newly developed training material[1].

(It should be noted that the overarching end objective is to use both the guide and the developed training materials to roll out OSH trainings for farmers and agricultural workers. It is therefore imperative to build the capacities of local/national stakeholders and partners to offer OSH trainings and awareness to farmers)

DELIVERABLES

By the end of the consultancy, the following deliverables are expected:

1. Submit to the ILO a workplan and timeframe of the assignment that includes the main tasks and schedule
2. Submit the draft guide to the ILO for internal review
3. Submit a 2-page summary comparing the new amendment with the old legislation
4. Conduct a 2-day presentation and validation workshop for the guide with stakeholders (feedback from the workshop should be reflected in the guide).
5. Final submission of guide incorporating comments from participants and ILO into the guide (to be delivered in both languages in soft copy)
6. Conduct a 5-day ToT on the finalized guide using the newly developed training material.
7. Submit to the ILO the shorter version of the guide to be used to train farmers and farm workers on OSH in agriculture (to be delivered in both languages in soft copy)
8. Submit training materials targeting trainers (to be delivered in both languages in soft copy)

(All data and information received from ILO for this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference (TOR). The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the express advance written authorization of the ILO. All intellectual property right arising from the execution of these TOR are assigned to the International Labour Organization. The intellectual property rights of the materials modified through the assignment remains with the International Labour Organization)

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION PROCESS

To be considered as an eligible candidate, the applicant should have the following qualifications:

1. University degree in social sciences, OSH or related fields.
2. A deep understanding of Occupational Safety and Health in general, and in the agricultural sector in particular, with well demonstrated experience.
3. At least 5-7 years of experience in conducting mixed-methods research at both the national and international levels.
4. Experience in the agricultural sector and production systems would be an advantage.
5. Good connections with farmers and an existing network in public institutions
6. Fluency in Arabic with advanced proficiency in English
7. Excellent analytical skills and demonstrated ability to write high quality documents in both Arabic and English.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The Selection Criteria for this consultancy will be based on the following:

(a) Quality and relevance of the proposal to the TORs

(b) Relevant and proven experience of the consultant

(c) Cost

The most economically advantageous offer will be selected based on a weighted evaluation of the technical proposal (weight: 70%) and financial proposal (weight: 30%).

Clarity of the proposal, provision of all required documentation, and innovative delivery are considered as a cross-cutting measurement criteria.

SUPERVISION AND LOGISTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

Reporting lines: The consultant will perform his/her assignment under the supervision of the National Agriculture Officer, and the overall guidance of both the ILO PROSPECTS Project Manager for Jordan, and the Chief Technical Adviser (CTA) for Arab States. All technical clearances will be obtained from the ILO Labour Inspection and OSH Specialist.

TIME FRAME AND ESTIMATED BUDGET

To the best of its ability, the ILO will support the selected candidate to deliver quality materials in the given timeframe. Based on the proposed methodology and research plan, this may include providing literature and existing guides, providing contact information and facilitating meetings with relevant stakeholders. The ILO will also cover the logistics and costs associated with the 2 workshops.

The work is to be implemented between May 1st 2024 – 31 October 2024, totalling 24 working days.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Payments will be dispersed based on the receipt of quality deliverables and estimated working days. The consultant will be paid for 24 working days. The payment instalment schedule will be as follows:

1. 50% payment upon delivery of activities 1 – 4 (under deliverables) to the satisfaction of the ILO.
2. Final payment of 10 working days upon the delivery of activities 5-8 (under deliverables) to the satisfaction of the ILO.