Israeli employers mistreat Palestinian workers, study found

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Tuesday July 03, 2007 11:28 by Vasilena Todorova - IMEMC News news at imemc dot org

Palestinians employed in West Bank settlements and industrial zones earn less than half the minimum wage, receive no health insurance and are insufficiently insured for work-related accidents, according to a study by Israel’s Committee on Foreign Workers released today.

The committee started researching the issue of low wages after receiving complaints about the poor working conditions for Palestinians employed in occupied and Israeli territories. About 18,000 Palestinians work in the industrial, agricultural, construction and services sectors of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

According to the report, some 120,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have work permits issued by the Israeli government but less than 22,000 of them work in Israel. However, Israeli law have established a cap on the number of Palestinians hired in Israel – 13,500 in construction, 2,000 at factories and services sector, 3,500 in agriculture and 3,000 more in East Jerusalem and Atarot industrial zone in north Jerusalem. There are no regulations constricting the number of Palestinian employees in West Bank settlements.

Palestinians earn 11 to 13 shekels an hour -- rates far below the minimal wage stipulated by Israeli law, and they often work over 10 hours a day, according to and Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor and Israeli workers’ rights groups. The study found that Israeli employers, especially in the West Bank, are not properly monitored by the labor department and, therefore, the mistreatment of Palestinian workers goes unchecked.

"Due to the many testimonies of infringement of Palestinian workers' rights by Israeli employers in the West Bank, it is worthy to probe whether employers comply to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor laws," the study said.

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