For the full article, by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques
Zilberdik- go to https://palwatch.org/page/17409
During an official Palestinian Authority TV
program called Workers' Affairs, which focused on internal labor issues for
Palestinians, Israel was lauded for its better conditions for Palestinians.
Israeli labor laws, positive working conditions, higher pay, health benefits,
vacation time and more that Palestinian workers enjoy while working for
Israelis were praised by Palestinian workers and their lawyers. As a result of
the better treatment by Israelis, Palestinians choose to work for them rather
than Palestinian employees:
This PMW report documents the basis for these
conclusions as found in interviews with Palestinian labor lawyers and workers
on PA TV and in the official PA daily, and with statistics from the Palestinian
Bureau of Statistics.
"Whenever Palestinian workers have the
opportunity to work for Israeli employers, they are quick to quit their jobs
with their Palestinian employers.” - [Official PA daily,
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 21, 2014]
The daily salary for Palestinians working for
Israelis is more than double the average West Bank salary from Palestinian
employers and more than four times the average salaries in the Gaza Strip:
“The average daily wage for employees in the
West Bank was 98.8 shekels compared with 56.7 shekels in the Gaza Strip… the
average daily wage for the wage employees in Israel and the Israeli settlements
reached 233.3 shekels in the 3rd quarter of 2017.” - [Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Survey.
(July-September, 2017), Nov. 9, 2017, English original]
“The average daily wage
for wage employees in the West Bank was
107.9 shekels compared with 62.6 shekels in Gaza Strip in the 2nd quarter
2018…The average daily wage for the wage employees in Israel and the Israeli
settlements reached 247.9 shekels in the 2nd quarter of 2018 compared with
242.5 shekels in the 1st quarter of 2018.” - [Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Survey
(April-June, 2018) Round (Q2/2018), English original]
The higher Israeli salaries have been consistent
for years according to surveys published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of
Statistics. In addition, Palestinian workers who work for Israelis have much
better working conditions than those employed by Palestinians, and by Israeli
law receive the same rights and protection that Israeli workers have.
Israeli Arab labor lawyer Khaled Dukhi, who
works with the Israeli NGO Workers' Hotline, says that Israeli labor law is
"very good" because it does not differentiate between men and women,
Israelis and Palestinians, or Muslims and Jews. However, he explained that
Palestinian workers who work for Israelis still suffer because Palestinian
middlemen "steal" a significant part of their salaries, especially
those of women:
Attorney Khaled Dukhi of Workers’ Hotline: "Israeli
labor law is a very good law regarding workers' rights, for both men and women.
Israeli law does not differentiate between a worker who has entered Israel
illegally or legally... Unfortunately, even though it is very good, in
practice, the law has become very bad for female Palestinian workers. For
instance, the Palestinian female workers in the agricultural sector enjoy many
rights, like any Israeli worker in the agricultural sector: The salary is
higher than the minimum wage, 14 vacation days a year in the first four years,
2,000 shekels convalescence pay [yearly] in the first year and 2,200 shekels in
the second and third year for every worker in Israel, payment for holidays,
whether Islamic or Jewish. It is a matter of choice."
An article in the official PA daily lauded
Israel and Israeli employers of Palestinians for their positive employment
ethics towards their Palestinian workers, while condemning Palestinian
employers for taking advantage of their workers.
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