Palestinian Economy & Workers’

Numbers & Distributions, Rights & Difficulties, “C” Area & Development

Palestine General Federation of Trade UnionsPGFTU

Total Labor Force1,137000

West Bank 761000Gaza 376000Total Percentage of Unemployment

28.2%West Bank 27.5%Gaza 40.2%

Numbers & Distributions

Participation in Labor Market:West Bank 46.1%Gaza 40.0%Male Labor Force 74%Female Labor Force 26%Male Unemployed 20.7%Female Unemployed 31.7%

Numbers & Distributions

Location & Sector Workers’ Distributions: Services: 32%Gaza 43%West Bank 35%Jerusalem 18% Israel 5%Settlements 2%

Numbers & Distributions

Construction & Supplementary Const.: 22%Israel 36% & 37% supp. const.,Jerusalem 28% & 12% supp. const.,Settlements 12% & 18% supp. const.,West Bank 12% various constructionGaza 11% various construction

Numbers & Distributions

Agriculture: 14%Settlements 32%West Bank 15%Israel 13%Gaza 12%Jerusalem 2%

Numbers & Distributions

Industry: 7%Settlements 24%West Bank 8%Israel 6%Gaza 5%

Numbers & Distributions

Transport & Telecom: 8%Gaza 11%Jerusalem 8%West Bank 7%

Numbers & Distributions

Crafts: 7%West Bank 10%Jerusalem 10%Gaza 4%Settlement 3%

Numbers & Distributions

To see how much workers have rights you have to see how much workers have

difficulties!! In the Palestinian Labor Market, it is shown

clearly that this market is very small. With a supply of 35000 annual graduates, where there exists no absorptive capacity in the public & private sectors to receive more than 6000 – 7000 workers maximum annually. So the annual accumulative of jobs shortfall is 28000-29000 graduates.

Rights & Difficulties

Access to work!

Dignified access to work!

Under the guns!

Price of family food

Firstly, safe and dignified access to their place of work.

Right to a reasonable life work balance.

Rights to horizontal equality in salary and work conditions with Israeli workers

Improving and strengthening labor legislation regarding social insurance, contracts, minimum wage decent work and social protection.

Rights & Difficulties

PGFTU supports sanctions (BDS) against Israel to induce its compliance with International Law. In particular, it seeks an absolute ban by the EU on trading in industrial, agricultural or academic goods/services from illegal Israeli settlements.

The ICTU and its member unions should:• Promote the exclusion of Israeli companies/organisations involved

in colonial settlements from benefiting from EU funded programmes (e.g. HORIZON 2020).

• Demand full freedom for Palestinian economic activity in “Area C” of the West Bank (64% if its territory!) as demanded by the World Bank as essential for a Palestinian economy, but currently denied by Israel.

• Use their influence in European and international federations to promote full UN membership for a Palestinian State in the 1967 borders (with Jerusalem as its capital).

What can ICTU Do?