In its latest report, the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PFGTU) denounced a host of violations of the right to freedom of association. Anti-union discrimination against workers and their representatives is frequent. Recently, the president of the Union of Dar Al-Shifa, Ahmad Samhan, was fired, while the head of the Agricultural Union, Abdul Karim Dweikat, was dismissed from the oil factory because of his trade union activity.
Employers often interfere in trade union affairs. At the Cedar Ice Cream Factory, for example, the employer interfered in the operation of the labour committee and incited workers to defect from the union. In the Gaza strip, the employer attempted to interfere during the election of the Mobile Workers Union Council.
Employers also refuse to negotiate with representative unions as was the case in 2019 in the dairy factory Jibreeni and in some textile factories in Nablus. They also avoid collective bargaining by negotiating directly with the workers, for example at Anabtawi Company and at the One Thousand and One Nights Restaurant. The management of the Electricity Company prevented the union from carrying out its activities and flatly refused to negotiate with the union.
PFGTU also reported that Red Crescent workers’ efforts to organise and defend their rights, notably through legitimate and peaceful protests, are constantly thwarted by the authorities. One of their strikes organised in 2019 was brutally broken down by the police. More generally, in the Gaza strip, strike actions are effectively prevented by the authorities, especially in the health and education sectors.