Thousands of Palestinians joined a strike in the West Bank last week to protest against the government’s proposed new social security law.
Under the scheme, private sector employers and their staff would be expected to pay into a government-managed fund on a monthly basis so that employees could draw a pension when they retire. The Palestinian Authority (PA) government, which is based in Ramallah, claims the move would provide citizens with new-found security as they grow older.
But polls show that an overwhelming majority of Palestinians consider PA institutions to be corrupt. As a result, protestors argue they do not trust the government to manage the new fund, while Israel’s continuing occupation of the West Bank means that the future of the PA government is far from secure anyway.
This mistrust brought about the industrial action, which saw much of Ramallah, Hebron and other West Bank cities brought to a standstill.
But the situation is also not being helped by the fact that Hamas, which runs the separate coastal enclave of the Gaza Strip, has said that it strongly opposes the Social Security Institution, claiming that it violates Palestinian law.
Amer Farah, who works at the Bank of Palestine in Ramallah, attested that in functioning states social security legislation was considered vital to protect citizens’ futures.
But he told the AFP newswire: We are still under occupation and there is no contact between parts of the country. The country is not stable, neither economically nor politically. How will they implement the law?”
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
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Thousands of Palestinians joined a strike in the West Bank last week to protest against the government’s proposed new social security law.
Under the scheme, private sector employers and their staff would be expected to pay into a government-managed fund on a monthly basis so that employees could draw a pension when they retire. The Palestinian Authority (PA) government, which is based in Ramallah, claims the move would provide citizens with new-found security as they grow older.
But polls show that an overwhelming majority of Palestinians consider PA institutions to be corrupt. As a result, protestors argue they do not trust the government to manage the new fund, while Israel’s continuing occupation of the West Bank means that the future of the PA government is far from secure anyway.
This mistrust brought about the industrial action, which saw much of Ramallah, Hebron and other West Bank cities brought to a standstill.
But the situation is also not being helped by the fact that Hamas, which runs the separate coastal enclave of the Gaza Strip, has said that it strongly opposes the Social Security Institution, claiming that it violates Palestinian law.
Amer Farah, who works at the Bank of Palestine in Ramallah, attested that in functioning states social security legislation was considered vital to protect citizens’ futures.
But he told the AFP newswire: We are still under occupation and there is no contact between parts of the country. The country is not stable, neither economically nor politically. How will they implement the law?”
Emma Woollacott is a freelance business journalist. Her work has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, the Times, Forbes and the BBC.
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Social security changes will see average US taxpayers $279 worse off
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National protest due to overtime-related "slave law" shake Hungary
