Palestinians prefer to work for Israeli employers - They may be hurt most by the UN's black list

PMW’s response to the UN’s blacklist

In response to the UN’s release of its list of blacklisted Israeli companies that have businesses across the Green Line, Palestinian Media Watch is releasing this report “Palestinians prefer to work for Israeli employers” – based on previous PMW releases.

The report shows that according to Palestinian workers, Palestinian lawyers, and the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, Palestinians enjoy better working conditions and prefer working for Israeli employers - including in Israeli settlements beyond the Green Line – rather than working for Palestinian employers. For example, wages are four times higher with Israeli employers than with Palestinian employers, and Palestinian workers receive health benefits, sick leave, and vacation time to the same degree as Israelis do.

By trying to harm Israeli companies that have “activities” in the West Bank, the UN is also harming the many Palestinians who work in these businesses, and who enjoy the better conditions offered by these Israeli enterprises. If the UN’s new BDS-flavored efforts lead to a larger boycott of these businesses, eventually they may have to let go of employees, among them Palestinians. Furthermore, it is likely that there will be pressure from the PA on Palestinians who work for the blacklisted businesses to leave their jobs.  

One Israeli business blacklisted by the UN is the supermarket Rami Levi, which is known for its peaceful coexistence of Palestinian and Israeli co-workers in all positions of employment.

Feb. 13, 2020

Why Palestinians prefer to work for Israeli employers

• "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]

• "Israeli labor law is a very good law regarding workers' rights... Unfortunately… the Palestinian middleman… takes 50 percent, 60 percent, and even 70 percent of her salary. If her daily salary is 180 shekels, in the end she receives 60 shekels. The [Palestinian] middleman steals two thirds of her salary."

[Official PA TV, Workers' Affairs, March 16, 2016]

• “The average daily wage for [Palestinian] employees in the West Bank was 98.8 shekels…  Gaza Strip 56.7 shekels… in Israel and the Israeli settlements 233.3 shekels”

[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Nov. 9, 2017]

• "There are more than 120,000 women in Palestine whose [monthly] salaries are less than 500 shekels."

[Official PA TV News, Nov. 3, 2018] 

• “It is inconceivable that the Palestinian worker receives his full rights from the Israeli employers, but not from the Palestinian ones.”

[Wael Nazif, CEO PA Labor Union, in official PA daily, Sept. 21, 2014]

By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

Introduction

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. In fact, conditions for Palestinian workers are so much better for Palestinians who work for Israelis rather than for Palestinians that the official PA daily explained that Palestinians will quit their jobs with Palestinian employers when given the opportunity to work for an Israeli employer instead. This conclusion was supported by surveys by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics

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.

The Report

Palestinians prefer to work for Israelis rather than Palestinians for several reasons. Firstly, the salary is more than double, but that is not all. Palestinians working for Israelis are protected by the same laws as Israeli workers, including health benefits, sick leave, vacation time, and other workers’ rights, whereas these protections are not granted by Palestinian employers. As a result of the better treatment by Israelis, Palestinians choose to work for them rather than Palestinian employers:  

"Whenever Palestinian workers have the opportunity to work for Israeli employers, they are quick to quit their jobs with their Palestinian employers.”

[See full article below, 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 106.4 shekels compared with 62.1 shekels in the Gaza Strip in the 1st quarter of 2018… The average daily wage for the wage employees in Israel and the Israeli settlements reached 242.5 shekels in the 1st quarter of 2018 compared with 232.0 shekels in the 4th quarter of 2017.”

[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Survey
(January-March, 2018) Round (Q1/2018), English original]

In 2018, the daily wages continued to rise for those Palestinians working for Israeli employers, increasing from the first to the second quarter of 2018:

“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 (see below). 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.

An Israeli Arab labor attorney who represents Palestinian laborers explained why it is preferable to work for Israelis, in two different interviews on the official PA TV program Workers' Affairs.

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."

TV host: "But in practice, do they enjoy these rights provided by law?"

Attorney Khaled Dukhi of Workers’ Hotline: "In reality, Palestinian workers - and especially the female Palestinian workers - do not receive these things. Why? You said: "The Palestinian middleman deducts from her [salary]." No, he does not deduct, he shares her salary. In practice, he takes 50 percent, 60 percent, and even 70 percent of her salary. If her daily salary is 180 shekels, in the end she receives 60 shekels. The middleman steals two thirds of her salary. Excuse the word ["steals"], but that is the exact word."

TV host: "Yes, it reflects the reality."    

 [Official PA TV, Workers' Affairs, March 16, 2016]

Qassem Abu Hadwan, a laborer from Hebron, explained that Palestinian employers often exploit their workers and pay less than half the wages, causing many Palestinians to prefer to work for Israeli employers:

Laborer from Hebron, Qassem Abu Hadwan: "The lack of monitoring of [Palestinian] owners of companies and factories and their exploitation of workers is what has forced people to Israel, to work and build in Israel. If only [a salary in the PA] was at least half of the salary [in Israel]... no one would work in Israel. However, workers have to go to Israel, because no one [in the PA] gives them what they deserve for their work, whether in factories or in companies, and even in municipalities..." 

Official PA TV host: "Do you think that the low income and exploitation by [Palestinian] factory and workshop owners are what force people to go within the Green Line [in Israel] or in the [West Bank] settlements?" 

Qassem Abu Hadwan: "It is what forces the workers to Israel. Even though the Israelis exploit them, they give them what they are entitled to. In the end, when a worker goes to Israel and earns 200 or 180 shekels [a day] as opposed to what he earns here [in the PA], 50, 70, or 100 shekels, then he says: A month's work here equals a week's work there [in Israel]. How can it be compared?" 

PA TV host: "We need investments and for workers' rights to be honored. What motivates the workers, as we said, to go [to work in] the interior (i.e., Israel) or to the settlements is the exploitation that takes place [in the PA] and the low income... They [the workers] spoke about 12 hour days in construction work in the Palestinian market, as opposed to 8 hours in the Israeli interior."                

[Official PA TV, Feb. 4 and 16, 2016]

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.

As opposed to the good treatment and wages Palestinians enjoy while working for Israeli employers, there is continuous criticism about their treatment by Palestinian employers. For example, more than 120,000 Palestinian women receive monthly salaries of under 500 shekels:

Secretary-General of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions Shaher Sa'ad: "We are talking about decent work and the right of unionization for working women at their work places, as we know that there are more than 120,000 women in Palestine whose salaries are less than 500 Israeli shekels. They need support… so that they will demand at least minimum wage, and their rights."

[Official PA TV News, Nov. 3, 2018]

The following chart shows statements of Palestinian workers comparing conditions working for Israeli and Palestinian employers in similar fields of employment:

Palestinian workers praise business ethics of their Israeli employers

The official PA daily quoted Palestinian workers employed by Palestinians and by Israelis, in order to compare the conditions.  

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 21, 2014]

Despite its neglect of its own workers, PA attacks Israel

The great conditions that Palestinian workers experience working for Israeli employers, and the preference amongst Palestinians to work for them, do not stop the Palestinian Authority leadership from libeling Israel in international forums, claiming Israel denies Palestinian workers their rights and promoting BDS - the boycotting of Israeli businesses, even those that employ Palestinians. This often creates a negative image for Israel in the international community that is a complete distortion of Palestinian workers’ reality. It is possible that the UN preparing a blacklist was in part a result of the incessant libels and lies of the PA to the international community.

The following is one example of a PA labor leader falsely libeling Israel at the UN headquarters in Geneva, which is where the blacklist was prepared.

“[PA] Minister of Labor Ma'moun Abu Shahla yesterday [May 31, 2018] called on the International Labour Organization to obligate Israel to abide by the international organization’s regulations and criteria, and to stop its violations against the Palestinian workers and the denial of their rights.

Abu Shahla said this as part of his statements during the meetings of the International Labour Organization’s 107th session at the UN headquarters in Geneva, which he participated in at the head of a delegation of the [PA] Ministry [of Labor].

Abu Shahla said that Palestinian workers are still suffering from the most horrible actions by the occupation government, which are expressed by the continued employment of workers through a middleman, inhumane treatment at the military checkpoints, non-implementation of the health and occupational safety regulations and appropriate work regulations at the Israeli places of employment, and the continued hiding of information regarding the extent of the Palestinian workers’ financial rights that have accumulated [in Israel] since 1970 as individual rights, which contradicts the basic principles of the International Labour Organization.

He also added that all of these violations appeared in a report of the International Labour Organization’s director-general regarding the condition of the workers in the occupied Arab territories.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 1, 2018]

It should also be noted that the PA itself enjoys the benefits of Palestinians working for Israeli employers. 75% of the income tax paid by Palestinians working in Israel is transferred to the PA. In 2017 alone, this provision provided the PA with no less than 135,000,000 shekels. In 2018 through October 2019 Israel transferred to the PA 277,740,024 shekels.

Conclusion

As is seen from official Palestinian Authority media, and statistics, Palestinian workers – whether working in Israel within the Green Line, or in Israeli settlements in the West Bank - are paid more than double by Israeli employers as they would receive if working for a Palestinian one. They also enjoy rights and benefits equal to others when working for Israelis, with no gender or religious discrimination. When working for Israelis, the only situation in which Palestinian workers, especially women, would not receive their full wages paid by the Israeli employer is when a Palestinian middleman may “steal” it. When looking at the work experience for Palestinians who work for Israelis and Palestinians, according to the testimonies in this report, it is clear why the official PA daily wrote that Palestinian workers, when given the opportunity, will prefer working for Israelis.

The following are longer excerpts of some of the sources cited above:

The article explained that Palestinian workers get their full rights when employed by Israelis directly and that the only time they don't get their full rights is when there is a Palestinian middleman:

"Whenever Palestinian workers have the opportunity to work for Israeli employers, they are quick to quit their jobs with their Palestinian employers - for reasons having to do with salaries and other rights.

An interview conducted by Al-Hayat Al-Jadida with a representative group of Palestinian workers revealed that those working for Israelis receive much higher salaries than their colleagues employed by Palestinians. In addition, those working for Israelis receive their pensions directly or through the lawyer representing the union of professional organizations in their region, while Palestinians working for Palestinian employers receive their pensions [only] after negotiating with them, and after many deductions, or through a personal appeal to court...

Furthermore, those working for Palestinian employers stated unanimously that they work without medical insurance, as [insurance] is not required by the Palestinian Labor Law, and that they receive no compensation for their travel expenses, while the Israeli employers, in most cases, pay their workers' travel expenses in both directions.

A female worker in the agriculture sector, who asked to go by the name 'Nadia,' says: 'For over five years, I have been receiving a daily salary of 50 shekels for my work in agriculture, and the salary has stayed the same. That's how it is for those working for Palestinians in agriculture.'

By contrast, Muhammad Hassan, a resident of a village in the Jordan Valley who works in the agriculture sector in the settlements, says: 'I receive a daily salary of over 100 shekels for picking vegetables, and every day a bus takes us to work and back.' He explains: 'The only cases in which a Palestinian worker does not receive the salary his Israeli [employer] determined for him are those cases in which the middleman is Palestinian. This is because he employs the workers at his own expense, and he is the one who pays their salaries, which puts the worker at risk of being exploited or having his wages withheld.'

Fuad Qahawish, who works as a waiter in a restaurant, says: 'I work 10 hours a day and receive a monthly salary of not more than 1,900 shekels, and we have no additional rights like yearly vacations, travel expenses and so on.' He reveals that 'my colleagues who do the same work for Israelis receive 4,000 shekels a month for the same number of hours.'

Saleh Al-Haj Musa notes: 'I work eight hours in an Israeli restaurant near the Dead Sea and receive a salary of over 4,000 shekels [a month], and my salary will increase because they are required [set by Israeli law] to pay minimum wage.' He added: 'They treat us well, and we receive our pensions easily - if not directly through an agreement with the employer, then through the lawyer of the union.'

Muhammad Al-Hinnawi, a construction worker, says: 'I receive a daily salary of 70 shekels, without pension, and I have no other choice.' By contrast, Thaer Al-Louzi, who used to work for an Israeli concrete factory, notes: 'I received a salary of 140 shekels a day. Now, after I was injured, I receive a salary through the insurance.' He adds: 'The work conditions are very good, and include transportation, medical insurance, and pensions. These things do not exist with Palestinian employers.'

Khalil Qteit says: 'I work in an Israeli aluminum factory in Mishor Adumim (industrial zone in the West Bank) and receive 23 shekels an hour. We receive our salaries according to an increasing gradual payment system for additional hours. In addition, we have a savings fund, which deducts 200 shekels a month from our salaries, to which the factory adds 400 shekels. All this accumulates in the workers' fund and is added to the pension we receive when we leave.' He adds: 'We have yearly vacations and unlimited sick leave of up to 99 days a year. Furthermore, the factory and the Israeli Workers' Union strictly adhere to the safety guidelines in addition to the yearly physical checkups carried out by doctors. Our travel expenses are paid in both directions, and workers have insurance for injuries incurred during shifts.' By contrast, a worker at one of the Palestinian factories in the district of Jericho, who asked to remain anonymous, says: 'I receive a salary of 1,800 shekels [a month], without [bonuses for] extra hours, even though I work late every week. There is no such thing as yearly vacations, but our travel expenses are paid...'

'[the PA] Minimum wage is in itself unjust to the Palestinian worker in any workplace, and is only enough to pay for falafel for one family for a month. This in itself constitutes a crime against the Palestinian worker,' says Wael Nazif, CEO of the Union of Palestinian Workers' Organizations in the Jericho district. Nazif emphasizes: 'It is inconceivable that the Palestinian worker receives his full rights from the Israeli employers, but not from the Palestinian ones.' He adds: 'When the [Palestinian] workers' unions agreed on the issue of minimum wage, it was for a one-year trial period. Two years have passed, yet this issue has still not been reexamined...’

Surveys and interviews conducted by Al-Hayat Al-Jadida clarify that the salaries of workers employed by Palestinians amount to less than half the salaries of those who work for Israeli employers in the areas of the Israel-occupied West Bank, which house factories, tourist facilities and agricultural lands.

In addition, Israel has forced its employers in the West Bank to pay [Israeli] minimum wage, which is 23 shekels an hour, to Palestinian workers. However, the PA passed a law, but does not force the employers in the PA areas to implement it, thereby exposing the worker to potential exploitation. In addition, the Palestinian worker receives nearly all of his rights from his Israeli employers - even if through the courts of law - [and he] is entitled to yearly vacations, sick leave, [bonuses for] additional work hours and is paid for his travel expenses, while the majority of Palestinian employers do not provide these benefits to their workers, except for a few institutions which have begun implementing them without pressure from official parties."

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Sept. 21, 2014]

From the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey 3nd Quarter 2018:

From the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey 2nd Quarter 2018:

From the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey 1nd Quarter 2018:

The following are additional statistics published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics comparing salaries for Palestinians who worked for Israelis to those they received from Palestinian employers in the PA.

“35.8% of wage employees in the private sector received less than the minimum wage (1,450 shekels) [a month] in Palestine. In the West Bank 15.5% of wage employees in the private sector received less than minimum monthly wage, about 36,300 wage employees with average monthly wage 1,074 shekels.
In the Gaza Strip the percentage of wage employees in the private sector who received less than minimum monthly wage was 80.1% about 86,300 wage employees with average monthly wage 693 shekels.”

[Labour Force Survey (January-March, 2018) Round (Q1/2018),
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, DATE, English original]

“The labour force participation rate of individuals aged 15 years and above was 46.5%.
The number of individuals participating in the labour force in Palestine was 1,413,000 in the 3rd quarter 2017; 890,200 in the West Bank and 522,800 in Gaza Strip.
The labour force participation rate in the West Bank was 46.5% and 46.7% in Gaza Strip…
The average daily wage for employees in the West Bank was 98.8 shekels compared with 56.7 shekels in Gaza Strip…
The number of [Palestinians] employed in Israel and Israeli settlements was 128,700 in the 3rd quarter of 2017 compared with 128,400 in the 2nd quarter of 2017.
The number of employees in the Israeli settlements increased to 23,400 in the 3rd quarter of 2017 from 18,300 in the 2nd quarter of 2017.
63.3% of the employed in Israel and the Israeli settlements worked in the construction sector.The average daily wage for the wage employees in Israel and the Israeli settlements reached 233.3 shekels in the 3rd quarter of 2017 compared with 222.6 shekels in the 2nd quarter of 2017.”

[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Survey
(July– September, 2017), Nov. 9, 2017, English original]

"The [PA] Central Bureau of Statistics publicized yesterday [Feb. 25, 2016] that... the number of workers in the local market reached 846,000 in 2015, as the number of workers in the West Bank reached 570,000, and 276,000 in the Gaza Strip....

11.7 percent of the workers work in Israel and the settlements. The number of workers from the West Bank [that work] in Israel and the settlements reached 112,300 in 2015... and the number of workers in Israeli settlements reached 22,400 in 2015.

The average daily wage for employees was 103.9 shekels in 2015... the average [daily] wage for employees in the West Bank was 94.1 shekels, and 61.9 shekels in the Gaza strip, while the average for employees in Israel and the settlements was 198.9 shekels."

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 26, 2016]

"The labour force participation rate of persons aged 15 years and above was 45.6%
The number of persons participating in the labour force in Palestine was about 1,276,000 in the 1st quarter 2015; about 810,300 in the West Bank and about 465,700 in Gaza Strip.
The labour force participation rate in the West Bank was 45.6% and 45.5% in Gaza Strip…
The unemployment rate among labour force participants was 26.5%... The average daily wage for wage employees in the West Bank was 94.2 shekels compared with 61.3 shekels in the Gaza Strip. 
The number of employed persons from the West Bank employed in Israel and Israeli settlements was 110,300 in the 1st quarter 2015 compared with 105,200 in the 4th quarter 2014… The number of employees in the Israeli settlements increased from 20,200 in 4th quarter 2014 to 20,900 in 1st quarter 2015… The average daily wage for the wage employees in Israel and the Israeli settlements reached 196.4 shekels in the 1st quarter 2015 compared with 194.2 shekels in the 4th quarter 2014.”

[Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Survey, DATE, English originial]