October 2005, the first meeting in the offices of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) in Jericho

About thirty Palestinian workers sat down around the big table in the middle of the room. The workers were asked to describe their situation at work: how many hours they worked, how much money they got at the end of the month, how they feel at work, what their relationship with their employers is like, and other similar questions. The workers, who worked in a number of factories in the Industrial Zone of Mishur Adumim and in agriculture, didn’t speak at all. After a few minuets of silence, one of them started describing his work in the Barbur Launderette, which provides services to a number of hospitals in Israel and to the IDF. He talked about the hard work from 7am until 5pm, in unsafe conditions, with no suitable work clothes, shoes, masks or gloves. He said that "most of the workers are suffering from nose irritation because of the chemicals that they smell. Moreover, these workers don't have a medical insurance despite the fact that they are working with dangerous chemicals that jeopardize their health." Another worker said: "we have a problem with the salary; we get at most 11 Shekels ($2.5) per hour. There is also a problem withholding salaries. So far we didn’t get paid for the last four months."

Another worker, who's been working at the same place for eight years, is complaining about inhumane attitude from the management. According to her, "the men don't have any toilets. The women have one cubicle out of two that they can use." She adds: "we are not given any time to pray. We must work on Saturdays, and if a worker refuses to come to work, either they get fired or they are left outside of the factory for about three to four hours as a punishment, and then taken back to work." She adds: "there is even no cold water to drink in the summer."

What's occurring at the Launderette is not unique. It reflects a wider reality of disgraceful employment conditions of Palestinians in Jewish West Bank settlements. The workers asked to speak anonymously. They were afraid that their employer would learn that they were "revealing secrets" and fire them. This feeling haunts the workers: the fear of losing that which, due to the rough economic situation in Palestine, is their family's only source of income. The Israeli employer succeeded in making workers feel as if he was 'doing them a favor' by letting them work for him. Workers internalize this idea, and feel that they have no other alternatives. "Give us another, more dignified job, and we will leave the work in the settlements", cried one of the workers from the aluminum factory in Mishor Adomim, and continued in rage: "you don’t know what kind of humiliation we go through every day, and how we are praying every day that we'll be able to continue working the next day. There is no job security, the employer is able to fire anyone at any point, without anyone caring."

The workers faced continued fear, and were focused most of the time on how to survive in their work place. They felt exploited, but didn’t know what to do.


Knowledge is power

For many years Palestinians took in the message that "we are workers from across the border, and that’s why we don’t have any rights". This situation reflects not only the relations between employers and workers, but also embodies the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Inside this complicated relationships, the workers knew that they were "serving the masters that seize their lands", and learned how to suppress this reality so as to be able to hold on to their workplace.

Kav LaOved and the Jericho PGFTU needed first to face feelings of alienation, disappointment and frustration by workers, and their belief that the situation can never change. The workers were in distress and demanded immediate solutions to their problems.

The workers of the Barbur Launderette, who knew that they had Kav LaOved's support, went out on two strikes in the months of April and May 2006. The workers stood in the doorway of the Launderette and demanded their salary for the last four months. They were on strike for six days. The employer tried both to appease and threaten them, until eventually the Industrial Zone's security officer dispersed the strike.

Then Kav LaOved initiated a precedent setting visit by an inspector from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. He met with the workers and with the management to investigate the issue of salary payment. The strike was partly successful. Some of the workers returned to work in improved conditions. Others were fired, including the four dominant strike leaders, but they don't regret their choice. So far twenty three lawsuits were submitted to the labor court against the Launderette.

As a result of a printed interview with the Launderette workers, which was distributed by Kav LaOved in July of 2006, more workers from other factories contacted Kav LaOved, asking to improve their conditions. Workers from a quarry in the Industrial Zone in Mishor Adumim complained about an illegally low salary – 65 Shekels ($15) for an eight hour shift, and an average of 170 Shekels per 16 hour nightshift. Kav LaOved corresponded with the quarry, but its manager chose to ignore the worker's demands for three months. After a lawsuit was submitted to the Labor Court, and an official complaint was filed by a worker who got hurt in a work related accident, the management of the quarry changed their attitude. They asked to settle out of court, and agreed to provide workers with better working conditions in the future. In a precedent setting step, about seventy quarry workers gathered to elect a workers' committee, which would be involved in every decision in the factory that has to do with the workers.

The meetings with the workers in Jericho clarified that there are three levels to the work that needs to be done in order to face the problems of Palestinian workers in the settlements. The first level is documenting the conditions of Palestinian workers; the second level is putting pressure on the Israeli employers through legal action and publicity; the third level is the empowerment of workers, who make up the primary human resource in industry.

These principles guide Arafat Amro from Jenin and Mahmud Amer (the chairman of PGFTU-Qalqilia and a long-term Kav LaOved employee) in documenting workers' complaints and disseminating labor rights information. Workers attend workshops about labor law and receive information leaflets. In addition, they are given attendance sheets in which they can document the days and hours in which they worked. These sheets can be used as evidence in court for the number of hours the worker should be paid for. There is a grate deal of significance to this issue, as Palestinian workers who work in agriculture in the Jordan valley, for example, do not get any document that documents their employment by settlers.


"Strangers in their own land": Palestinian workers in the settlements

In December 2006 Kav LaOved held the first public event of its kind in Israel, presenting the dilemmas that Palestinian workers face. The event included a screening of the documentary "Strangers in Their Own Land", produced by of Kav LaOved and the Muassasat foundation. The Israeli audience was exposed for the first time to the reality in which Palestinian workers are living.

The event hosted 38 Palestinian workers who got last meeting entry permits by the Civil Administration to attend the event in Israel. The presence of the Palestinian workers in Tel Aviv empowered them: they weren’t just characters on the screen, but human beings sharing a common space with Israeli viewers. Most of the Palestinian workers who attended had never been to Tel Aviv or Jaffa before. This conference gave them a chance to see Israeli society from the inside, feel the pulse of Tel Aviv, and enjoy the beach. In the meetings that took place later with the workers, they repeatedly mentioned this experience and the sense of freedom they felt that day.

The Palestinian workers project is based on sharing knowledge and cooperation between the workers, Kav LaOved and the PGFTU in the west bank. The project is speaking the language of workers, and expresses their pain, their fears and their economic distress. Together with the workers, it is trying to solve the problems of employment in the settlements, but does not get into the political question of whether Palestinian workers should work in Jewish settlements. More and more people benefit from the project. Starting with an individual worker who learns about his rights, the message passes on to his colleagues in the same factory, then to other workers in nearby factories, and finally to workers in other areas. As time goes by other agents, such as the media, start to play a role in raising public awareness to this issue.

The near future, it seems, won't change Israel's intentions to keep employing Palestinian workers in the settlements. While Israel is being cloaking itself in the separation wall, thousands of new Palestinian workers are expected to join "hell's factories", as the workers refer to the factories on the Israeli-Palestinian border industrial zones. The journey, therefore, is still long ahead.