The United Nations blacklist of businesses operating in Israeli settlements was lauded by the Palestinian leadership following its publication last week, but a recent report indicates that Palestinians actually prefer to work for Israelis rather than Palestinians.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Titled, Why Palestinians prefer to work for Israeli employers, the report, by Israel-based media watchdog group Palestinian Media Watch, affirms that whenever Palestinian workers have the opportunity to work for Israeli employers, they are quick to leave their jobs with Palestinian employers. The report cites an article in the official Palestinian Authority daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida which praises the Israeli employment sector.
According to senior PMW analyst Nan Jacques Zilberdik, who co-authored the report with PMW director Itamar Marcus, there are a number of reasons Palestinians prefer Israeli employers.
"First, the salary from Israeli employers is more than double that of the Palestinian sector, 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. Also, there is no gender or religious discrimination in the Israeli sector."
Speaking on the official PA TV show Workers Affairs, Israeli Arab labor lawyer Khaled Dukhi, of the Israeli NGO Workers' Hotline, said Israeli labor law is "very good" because it does not differentiate between men and women, Israelis and Palestinians, Muslims and Jews. However, he explained, "Palestinian workers who work for Israelis still suffer because Palestinian middlemen 'steal' 50%, 60% and even 70% of their salaries, especially those of women."
The higher Israeli salaries have been consistent for years according to surveys published by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
