ILO discussed impact of the Syrian refugees in Irbid

A delegation comprising representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Labour Ministry in Jordan met on Wednesday with the Governor of Irbid Khaled Abu Zeid and other officials to discuss ways to ease the impact of the Syrian crisis on the citizens in the Irbid Governorate. The governor briefed the delegation about the major problems facing the area including replacing Jordanian labour with Syrian labour and competition for services provided by municipal authorities, the Health Ministry and charity organizations that placed burden on the infrastructure. He said that 14,000 Syrian students joined schools in the governorate over the past two years, leading to an increase in the number of students to 55 per class. ILO official Federico Negro said the organization was interested in coordinating with local organizations to acquaint itself with the needs of the Jordanians to overcome the negative impact resulting from the increasing number of refugees.