A Voice For the Voiceless
The Advocacy Project helps marginalized communities to tell their story, claim their rights and produce social change. Since 1998, AP has supported 117 community-based organizations in 52 countries.
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DWRC was established in 1993 by a group of lawyers, academics, trade unionists and other prominent figures in Palestinian society to defend Palestinian workers’ rights and promote principles of democracy and social justice in the Palestinian territories. In 1997, working with Israeli lawyers, DWRC won a landmark case when the Israeli courts agreed that employers were liable to pay compensation in the event that a worker is laid off because the borders are closed. It is estimated that 8,535 persons (workers and families) were able to benefit from DWRC’s work to the tune of $1.3 million. Since 2001, DWRC has shifted focus from Palestinian workers employed in Israel to workers employed within the Palestinian territories. This change in focus reflects not only the need for a comprehensive social security system within Palestine, but also responds to changes in Israeli policies that have altered the framework of Palestinian labor.
Within Palestine, DWRC promotes worker’s direct experience of democracy through the advancement of labor education and involvement in democratic unions, which is of particular importance because in Palestine there is a tendency for unions to align with political parties and serve political ends rather than advocating for the economic and social welfare of their members. By strengthening independent trade unions, DWRC equips and mobilizes the Palestinian labor force to actively participate in building a democratic society and promotes and defends the rights of Palestinian workers.
DWRC is an advocate for gender based equity, placing a special emphasis on promoting women’s leadership within the labor movement and educating women workers’ about their rights in the workplace. DWRC seeks to increase women’s representation and protection in the workplace through the implementation of training courses to improve staff comprehension of gender issues, attitudes and behaviors, and systematized gender disaggregating of beneficiary data for the organization's programs.
Legal Aid and Human Rights Protection:
DWRC believes in a holistic approach to human rights. The Legal Aid and Human Rights Protection program provides a unique, rights-centered approach to labor in Palestine through the advancement of human rights in general and economic, social, and cultural rights in particular. The focus of the program includes:
Within Palestine there is a specific need for strengthening independent labor organizing. In Palestine labor unions remain polarized through political affiliation. This results in unions serving a political purpose rather than standing up for workers’ rights. The Worker’s Freedom of Association and Organizing Program seeks to contribute to a democratic Palestine through:
Currently, there is no social-safety net for Palestinian workers such as unemployment or disability benefits. Many Palestinian laborers are employed in hazardous sectors, including stone cutting, construction, and industrial labor. DWRC is dedicated to protecting the health and safety of the Palestinian workforce by:
Giving knowledge means giving strength. The DWRC is committed to increasing worker’s knowledge and awareness through:
The monthly income of 58.3% of Palestinian households is below the national poverty line; this figure includes 46.5% in the West Bank, and 79.3% in the Gaza Strip. Unemployment figures steadily increase with the closing of borders and the restriction on Israeli work permits. Working with local employers, the DWRC has developed an emergency unemployment initiative where DWRC covers 50% of newly employed workers salaries for a temporary period. The program has benefited thousands of Palestinian workers. In addition, the program fights for economic justice by means of:
DWRC is committed to building an independent and informed Palestinian civil society. Through our Research and Studies Program, DWRC contributes to the local and international awareness of labor law, socio-economic rights, trade union rights, gender-discrimination in the workplace, and health and occupational safety violations via:
May 3, 2004
Call for Solidarity for Palestinians at Erez
Norwegian People's Aid
April 26, 2002
"Operation Defensive Shield" devastates the West Bank
Relief Web
April 5, 2002
Palestinian civil society calls for an international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people
Relief Web
June 1999
Worker's Rights...Hard Times
The Palestinian Human Rights Monitor
January 6, 1995
Histadrut says Palestinian labor activist's arrest was politically motivated
The Jerusalem Post
Prominent Rights Activist Confined to Palestine
One World
Contact:
P.O. Box 876
Al-Irsal Street, Al-Masayaf neighborhood
West Bank Palestine
Tel: 970/972-(0)2-295-2608
Fax: 970/972-(0)2-295-2985
Email DWRC Back
Democracy and Workers' Rights Center in Palestine
The Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center (DWRC) is a nongovernmental, nonprofit worker’s rights organization unaffiliated with any political party. DWRC works to promote worker’s direct experience of democracy through the advancement of labor education and democratic unions. It equips and mobilizes the Palestinian labor force to actively participate in building a democratic society and to promote and defend the rights of Palestinian workers.
DWRC was established in 1993 by a group of lawyers, academics, trade unionists and other prominent figures in Palestinian society to defend Palestinian workers’ rights and promote principles of democracy and social justice in the Palestinian territories. In 1997, working with Israeli lawyers, DWRC won a landmark case when the Israeli courts agreed that employers were liable to pay compensation in the event that a worker is laid off because the borders are closed. It is estimated that 8,535 persons (workers and families) were able to benefit from DWRC’s work to the tune of $1.3 million. Since 2001, DWRC has shifted focus from Palestinian workers employed in Israel to workers employed within the Palestinian territories. This change in focus reflects not only the need for a comprehensive social security system within Palestine, but also responds to changes in Israeli policies that have altered the framework of Palestinian labor.
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Within Palestine, DWRC promotes worker’s direct experience of democracy through the advancement of labor education and involvement in democratic unions, which is of particular importance because in Palestine there is a tendency for unions to align with political parties and serve political ends rather than advocating for the economic and social welfare of their members. By strengthening independent trade unions, DWRC equips and mobilizes the Palestinian labor force to actively participate in building a democratic society and promotes and defends the rights of Palestinian workers.
DWRC is an advocate for gender based equity, placing a special emphasis on promoting women’s leadership within the labor movement and educating women workers’ about their rights in the workplace. DWRC seeks to increase women’s representation and protection in the workplace through the implementation of training courses to improve staff comprehension of gender issues, attitudes and behaviors, and systematized gender disaggregating of beneficiary data for the organization's programs.
Legal Aid and Human Rights Protection:
DWRC believes in a holistic approach to human rights. The Legal Aid and Human Rights Protection program provides a unique, rights-centered approach to labor in Palestine through the advancement of human rights in general and economic, social, and cultural rights in particular. The focus of the program includes:
Workers' Freedom of Association and Organizing
- Advocacy for fundamental labor rights and social justice
- Raising workers’ awareness to their rights
- Monitoring, documenting, and reporting human rights violations
- Adopting worker complaints and seeking settlement of labor disputes
- Legal studies and giving free legal consultations
- Technical assistance and training in the field of human rights with a focus on labor legislation
- DWRC has been trying to strengthen the independence of the judiciary, by holding training courses for young lawyers and encouraging them to stand for election to the Palestinian Bar Association, which is also close to the Authority. (Breaking the Cycle of Dependency)
- DWRC has fought for the rights of workers, both in Israel and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In 2000, the organization acted on 1,009 complaints, and completed 893 cases. About 30 of these involved Palestinian day laborers who were cheated out of their wages by Israeli employers. Another 20 or so were detained or fined by Israeli security forces. (Breaking the Cycle of Dependency)
- After the Authority drafted a new labor law without any input from workers, DWRC helped to organize a coalition of groups from civil society to draft an alternative law. Drawing on a grant from the European Union, DWRC launched a series of hard-hitting television advertisements and even picketed the homes of individual members of the parliament. (Breaking the Cycle of Dependency)
Within Palestine there is a specific need for strengthening independent labor organizing. In Palestine labor unions remain polarized through political affiliation. This results in unions serving a political purpose rather than standing up for workers’ rights. The Worker’s Freedom of Association and Organizing Program seeks to contribute to a democratic Palestine through:
Occupational Health and Safety and Work Environment
- Providing technical assistance to workers’ committees and leaders
- Helping workers to establish and support new committees and independent trade unions
- Assisting workers and trade unionists in defending their rights through collective bargaining, organizing industrial action, and through freedom of association
- Advocating for trade union freedoms
- DWRC has hosted a labor conference in order to establish a new labor coalition. Information about this conference is posted on the AP website, including profiles of the Executive Committee's members and press releases from DWRC concerning the event.
- DWRC has criticized the Temporary Interim Mechanism (TIM), a
little-known European aid program that has supported Palestinian workers during the economic crisis, and called for beneficiaries to be consulted about how the funds are used in the future. It argues that the TIM program is arbitrary, secretive, and that it has created divisions among Palestinian workers. The unionists also raised questions about the program's humanitarian goals. (Palestinian Workers Call For Reforms in European Emergency Aid Program)
Currently, there is no social-safety net for Palestinian workers such as unemployment or disability benefits. Many Palestinian laborers are employed in hazardous sectors, including stone cutting, construction, and industrial labor. DWRC is dedicated to protecting the health and safety of the Palestinian workforce by:
Training and Education
- Collecting data and preparing research and studies
- Raising awareness to OHS
- Training and developing training tools
- Providing technical assistance and expertise on OHS to partner unions
Giving knowledge means giving strength. The DWRC is committed to increasing worker’s knowledge and awareness through:
Elimination of Poverty and Unemployment
- Basic, intermediate, and advanced level training courses for workers, labor activists, and trade union leaders on organizing, bargaining, trade union management, strategic planning, and gender-based biases in the workplace
- Study circles
- Political and socio-economic education program
The monthly income of 58.3% of Palestinian households is below the national poverty line; this figure includes 46.5% in the West Bank, and 79.3% in the Gaza Strip. Unemployment figures steadily increase with the closing of borders and the restriction on Israeli work permits. Working with local employers, the DWRC has developed an emergency unemployment initiative where DWRC covers 50% of newly employed workers salaries for a temporary period. The program has benefited thousands of Palestinian workers. In addition, the program fights for economic justice by means of:
Research and Studies
- Involving the local industries in reducing unemployment and poverty in their community
- Mobilizing available manpower according to qualifications and skills
- Facilitating women’s insertion in the labor market
- Helping the unemployed to provide for their basic needs
- Enabling local industries to continue producing despite border closures
- DWRC, the National Coordinator of the National Coalition for the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), helped organize events for the UN International Day for Eradicating Poverty on October 17, 2007. Included were demonstrations and rallies and the presentation of an open letter to the Palestinian President and Prime Minister concerning the poverty that many Palestinians face.
DWRC is committed to building an independent and informed Palestinian civil society. Through our Research and Studies Program, DWRC contributes to the local and international awareness of labor law, socio-economic rights, trade union rights, gender-discrimination in the workplace, and health and occupational safety violations via:
- Publications, data analysis, and special reports related to labor and human rights
- Establishing and developing a labor library
- Information collection and dissemination to better influence policies
- Reports
You can find DWRC's annual reports, legal studies and research papers, and economic, social and cultural rights reports on its website.
- Press Releases
Janurary 7, 2008 – As human tragedy continues to unfold, mobilization to stop the Israeli war on Gaza must go on
August 8, 2008 – DWRC Meets with Belgian Delegation Regarding the Current Context of Palestinian Labor
August 4, 2008 – GCAP-Palestine Launches the Committee on Poverty and Climate Change
July 29, 2008 – Democracy and Workers Rights Center Hosts Meeting to Discuss Social Policy in Palestine
July 21, 2008 – DWRC Lawyer Challenges the Assumption that Constitutionalism in Palestine Does Not Work
July 10, 2008 – Occupational Health and Safety Experts Discuss Ways to Improve Work-injury Insurance Plans
June 6, 2008 – Interfaith Peace-Building Delegation Visits the DWRC in Ramallah, Palestine
June 5, 2008 – UN Food Relief Program Will Have Little Effect on Palestinian Food Crisis
DWRC's website hosts a collection of the organization's press releases since 2003.
AP's Resources section also contains several DWRC press releases from 2007.
- Advocacy Project News Bulletins: AP has published bulletins about DWRC through the news service, AdvocacyNet.
- Blogs
In 2008, AP sent Peace Fellow Willow Heske to work with DWRC. Read Willow's blog.
In 2007, AP sent Peace Fellow Eliza Bates to work with DWRC. Read Eliza's blog.
May 3, 2004
Call for Solidarity for Palestinians at Erez
Norwegian People's Aid
April 26, 2002
"Operation Defensive Shield" devastates the West Bank
Relief Web
April 5, 2002
Palestinian civil society calls for an international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people
Relief Web
June 1999
Worker's Rights...Hard Times
The Palestinian Human Rights Monitor
January 6, 1995
Histadrut says Palestinian labor activist's arrest was politically motivated
The Jerusalem Post
Prominent Rights Activist Confined to Palestine
One World
Outreach Partners
- The Palestinian Network of NGOs (PNGO)
- Council of Human Rights Organizations
- The Arab Network of NGOs
- The Arab Network for Development
- The International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations in the Arab Countries (IFWEA/AC)
- The International Federation of Workers’ Education Associations (IFWEA)
- The International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net)
- The Global Network for Global Dialogue
- The Global Occupational Health Network (GOHNET)
- The Habitat International Coalition (HIC-MENA)
For more information email DWRC.
- Legal: After the Authority drafted a new labor law without any input from workers, DWRC helped to organize a coalition of groups from civil society to draft an alternative law. The campaigners managed to get almost all of their demands inserted into the draft, including paid vacation, severance pay and the right to elect representatives to the federation of unions. The law was accepted by the parliament in May of 2000. (Breaking the Cycle of Dependency)
- Legal: In 1997, working with Israeli lawyers, DWRC won a landmark case when the Israeli courts agreed that employers were liable to pay compensation in the event that a worker is laid off because the borders are closed. Barghouthi estimates that 8,535 persons (workers and families) were able to benefit from this in 2000, to the tune of $1.3 million. (Breaking the Cycle of Dependency)
Contact:
P.O. Box 876
Al-Irsal Street, Al-Masayaf neighborhood
West Bank Palestine
Tel: 970/972-(0)2-295-2608
Fax: 970/972-(0)2-295-2985
Email DWRC Back