A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

DWRC Press Release: May 1, 2006

Palestinian Unions Reject “Blackmail” by International Donors and Press Hamas and Fatah to Respect Labor Rights, May 1, 2006

Press Release from The Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center and democratic and independent trade unions and workers’ committees.

The Independent Labor Committees’ Union – Gaza Strip, the Telecommunications and Information Technology Trade Union –Palestine, the South Workers' Union Council, the Pharmaceutical industry employees’ association – Palestine, the Local Authorities Workers' Federation - West Bank, the Health services employees’ union – West Bank, the Financial institutions employees’ association, the Federation of Palestinian Universities Professors and Employees Trade Unions, the General Union for Electricity Sector Workers in Palestine, the Emergency Medical Service Union – West Bank, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society workers’ union – Hebron, the Abu Raya hospital workers’ committee – Ramallah, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society hospital workers’ committee – Al-Bireh, the Sheikh Zaid hospital workers’ committee – Ramallah, the Palestinian Higher Education Colleges Employees’ Federation and the Palestinian Opticians Union,

issued a joint press release in which we reaffirm our refusal of all types of siege, political and economic blackmail, which some international and regional powers are trying to impose on our people, in what appears as an attempt to punish us for living out our democratic experience and sabotage it, instead of exerting real pressure on the Israeli Occupying Power to force it to withdraw from the territories occupied in 1967 as required by international resolutions, and this while Israel continues to confiscate our land, build illegal settlements and the “Separation” Wall, assassinate, arrest, and repress our people.

In order to enhance our steadfastness and our capacity to pursue our national struggle to end the occupation and to achieve our people’s right to freedom and self-determination, we called upon all Palestinian political and social forces, official and non-official institutions, especially the Fatah and Hamas movements and the presidential and governmental institutions to support one another in their efforts to overcome the current crisis and develop, activate and reform the Palestinian Liberation Organization institutions -as the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people embodying the unity of its political and social forces-, and protect our national project.

Based on the presidential and current government’s programs and promises, and to uphold the principles and standards of social justice and the sovereignty of law, we also requested from the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, the Prime Minister, Mr. Ismael Haniyeh, the Chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Mr. Azeez Dweik, the Minister of Labor, Mr. Muhammad Al-Barghouthi, to take all measures towards ensuring the:

• Adoption of a trade union law based on the principles and standards of freedom of association including the right of all workers to establish their own organizations, affiliate to them and choose their representatives freely

• Establishment and activation of tripartite bodies and committees dealing with labor policies and affairs, and guarantying the right of democratic and independent workers’ unions to participate in them

• Adoption of the law for protection against unemployment

• Exemption of the families of the unemployed from paying governmental health insurance, and their children from paying tuition fees; a solution to the problem of the accumulating water and electricity debts of the unemployment; creation of a loan fund for the children of the unemployed who are joining higher education institutions

• Centralization of the supervision of access to and distribution of humanitarian aid and job creation projects according to clear and announced standards

• Implementation of the social insurance law and disclosure of the reasons and persons responsible for its non-enactment

• Stopping violations of the Palestinian labor law and taking legal action against those who violate its articles; development of the system of labor inspection; identification of a minimum wage; establishment of specialized labor courts; implementation of the legislation concerning the rights at work of children, the disabled and women

• Approval and implementation of the regulations on the rights and duties of local authorities workers and their pension system

• The payment of public employees’ salaries on time, the amendment and implementation of the civil service law for all the workers in governmental institutions, and modifications in the hierarchy of the Health and Education Ministries