RAMALLAH, April 29, 2010 (WAFA)-Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on International Workers Day, said, about 32.8% of wage employees in the private sector have work contract, and 22.4% of wage employees in the Palestinian Territory are affiliated to labor or professional union.

As part of its proactive dissemination policy, PCBS issuedin a press release on the occasion of May 1st - The International Workers Day - to shed light on the working conditions of Palestinian labor during the year 2009.

The results of the Labor Force Survey - 2009 indicated that the number of wage employees in the Palestinian Territory amounted to 475,500 of whom 262,100 work in the West Bank and 144,100 work in the Gaza Strip; while 58,500 work in Israel and 10,800 in Israeli settlement.

The results of the survey also showed that (47.5%) of wage employees in the Palestinian Territory work in the private sector compared with 37.9% work in the public sector; while the percentage of workers in Israel and Israeli settlements reached 14.6%. Regarding wage employees in the West Bank, about half of these employees work in the private sector (52.1%) compared with 27.0% in the public sector and 20.9% work in Israel and Israeli settlements. The results also indicate that the public sector was the largest employer in the Gaza Strip with 63.0% compared with 37.0% in the private sector.

The findings also showed that 35.7% of wage employees work as professionals or technicians in the Palestinian Territory; distributed as 31.2% in the West Bank and 46.2% in the Gaza Strip. In addition, 14.5% of wage workers in the Palestinian Territory work  in  craft occupations distributed as 18.5% in the West Bank and 5.1% in the Gaza Strip.
 

The results showed that 15.8% of wage workers in the Palestinian Territory in 2009 received vocational training distributed as 14.6% in the West Bank and 18.5% in the Gaza Strip.
 

The percentage of wage workers from the West Bank who worked in Israel or Israeli settlements in 2009 and possess work permit reached 39.4% compared with 24.0% with no permit. The number of workers from Jerusalem (Holders of Jerusalem or Israeli ID card) and work in Israel reached 36.6%.
  

The number of weekly working hours is considered an important indicator to shed light on working conditions. The results of the mentioned survey show that the weekly working hours do not vary by employment sector or place of work. The results show that the average work week in hours in the Palestinian Territory reached 41.7 hours distributed as 40.5 hours for employed persons in the public sector, 42.4 hours in the private sector and 41.7 in Israel and Israeli Settlements.

The average work week in hours for employed persons in the West Bank  reached 42.4 hours, distributed as  42.2 hours in the private sector, 41.3 hours in the public sector and 41.7% in Israel and Israeli settlements. On the other hand, the average  work week in hours for employed persons in the Gaza Strip reached 39.4 hours, distributed as  40.0 hours in the private sector and 38.7 hours in the public sector.

The average daily wage in 2009 reached 91.3 NIS in the Palestinian Territory; while it reached 84.4 NIS in the public sector, 77.0 NIS in the private sector, 148.1 NIS in Israel and Israeli settlements.

 Regarding average monthly wage in 2009 by education level, the highest for wage employees was for those who have bachelor degree or higher with 2,814 NIS distributed as 3,070 NIS in the West Bank and 2,259 NIS in the Gaza Strip. On the other hand, the lowest average monthly wage in 2009 in the Palestinian Territory was recorded for employed persons with education level as preparatory or less with 2,224 NIS distributed as 2,435 NIS in the West Bank and 1,115 NIS in the Gaza Strip.

The average wage in the private sector by economic activity had shown clear contrast; where the service sector, recorded the highest daily average wage with 106.3 NIS in the West Bank compared with 75.8 NIS in the Gaza Strip. The agriculture sector recorded the lowest average daily wage with 57.0 NIS in the West Bank and 24.2 NIS in the Gaza Strip.

Regarding work related rights and privileges, the results showed that only 12.2% of wage employees in the private sector receive retirement or end of service benefits; while 27.6% receive paid annual leave and 29.6% receive paid annual sick leave. In addition, 42.7% of women receive paid maternity leave. On the other hand, the results showed that more than 90% of wage employees in the public sector most of work related benefits and privileges such as sick leave, annual leave, maternity leave, …etc.

The findings of the Labor Force - 2009 showed that one in every three workers in the private sector in the Palestinian Territory has a work contract (32.8%) distributed as 30.1% in the West Bank and 41.4% in the Gaza Strip.

The findings of the survey also indicated that 22.4% of wage employees in the Palestinian Territory in 2009 were affiliated to labor or professional union, distributed as 23.3% in the West Bank and 20.2% in the Gaza Strip.