PALESTINIAN LABOUR LAW. Ahmed T. Ghandour.

FIFTH CHAPTER. WORK’S TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

SECTION FOUR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH.

 Article (90)  Based upon a suggestion proposed by the Minister in coordination with the competent authorities, the Council of Ministers shall issue the regulations governing the occupational safety and health and work environment. Such regulations shall in particular include the following:  1. Personal protection and prevention methods for workers from the work hazards and occupational diseases.  2. The necessary health conditions that should be present at the workplaces.  3. first medical aid means provided for workers at the installation.  4. The periodical medical examination of workers.

 Because of the importance of “the occupational safety and health and work environment’ the labour Minister asked the Cabinet to put the needed regulations in order to protect the employees within their work environment, also to protect the outer environment from any work’s disturbance or pollution.  And the article paid a special attention to the four points concerning the personal protection and health conditions of the workers.

 Article (91)  According to the provisions of this Law and the regulations issued according to it, the installation shall issue the instructions on occupational safety and health in addition to the list of penalties related to such instructions. Both the instructions and the list shall be approved by the Ministry. Such instructions shall be posted on visible locations at the installation.

 Approved labour safety regulation must be posted on visible locations at the installation before the employees to follow, otherwise a punishment will face any violation.  Then it is the duty of the employer or the work instillation to offer the needed safety tools and first aid kits freely in work place for all the worker.

 Article (92)  No installation shall make the worker bear any expenditures or deductions from his/her wage in return for the provision of the conditions related to occupational safety and health.

SIXTH CHAPTER REGULATING THE WORK OF MINORS.

 Article (93)  The employment of children before they reach the age of fifteen years shall be prohibited.  Article (94)  Minors shall be subject to medical examination before they join the work in order to make sure that their health condition is compatible with the work they will perform. Such medical examination shall be repeated every six months.

PRE-WORK CONDITIONS.  Any minor must not be allowed to start joining the work market before reaching the age 15, and be fit for the job according to medical examination which shall be repeated every six months.

MINOR’S FORBIDDEN JOBS.

 Article (95)  No minors may be employed in the following jobs:  1. Dangerous industries or those harmful to health, which are defined by the Minister.  2. Nightly jobs or during official or religious holidays or official off days.  3. Extra working hours or employ such minors on the basis of unit production.  4. At work areas which are remote or distant from inhabited areas.

THE WORKING HOURS & ANNUAL LEAVE.

 Article (96)  1. The daily working hours for the minors shall be reduced by at least one working hour per day.  2. The daily working hours must include one or more rest period/s, the total of which shall not exceed one hour, so that the minor does not work for more than four consecutive working hours.  Article (97)  The annual leave of minors shall be three weeks and may not be postponed.

 The minor working hours is one hour less than the rest of the workers, also he is entitled to a rest for one hour a day which can be divided for two periods.  As well as he shouldn’t work more than 4 continues hours.  The annual leave for the minor exceeds three weeks, and must not be dallied.

 Article (98)  The installation shall post on the workplaces the provisions governing the employment of minors. The employer shall also organize a register, which include all issues related to such minors.  Article (99)  Minors who work for their relatives of the first degree and under such relatives supervision, shall be exempted from the application of the provisions stated in this chapter, provided that the work performed by the minors and under all circumstances is done according to proper health and social conditions and in a manner that does not negatively affect their mental and physical growth or their education.

FINAL PROVISIONS.  The regulations related to minors work must be existing before the workers in the installation.  Any minor who works for his relatives of the first degree and under such relatives supervision, shall be exempted from the application of the provisions stated in this chapter within a proper health and social conditions

THE CHILD LABOUR ILO POINT OF VIEW.  High adult unemployment rates as well as falling and average real wages in the oPt have created pressures on children to work to support their families. This is further exacerbated by weaknesses in the education system and the lack of an effective, reliable and comprehensive social security system, which increases the risk of families resorting to child labour.  The ILO project “Enhanced Knowledge and Capacity of Tripartite Partners to Address the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the occupied Palestinian territory” supports the global goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016 through awareness raising and capacity building initiatives that target government, worker, employer and civil society representatives in the oPt. By promoting a greater understanding of child labour, including its worst forms, national partners can take action to adopt or modify legislation and reinforce their knowledge base on child labour.

SEVENTH CHAPTER REGULATING THE WORK OF WOMEN.

 Article (100)  According to the provisions of this Law and the regulations issued according to it, it is prohibited to discriminate between men and women.  Article (101)  The employment of women shall be prohibited in the following jobs or under the following conditions:  1. Dangerous or hard works defined by the Minister.  2. Extra working hours during pregnancy and during the first six months after delivery.  3. During night hours except for the works defined by the Council of Ministers.

 Article (102)  The installation shall make available accommodations in relation to the working women.  Article (103)  1. The working woman who had spent a period of one hundred and eighty days at work prior to each delivery, she shall have the right to a paid maternity leave for a period of ten weeks, including at least six weeks after the delivery.  2. The working woman may not be dismissed from her work because of the leave mentioned in Paragraph (1) above unless it is proven that she worked in another work during such leave.

 Article (104)  1. The breastfeeding mother shall be entitled to a period or periods for breast feeding during work hours, the total of which shall not be less than one hour per day for a period of one year from the date of delivery.  2. The breastfeeding hour, mentioned in Paragraph (1) above, shall be counted s part of the daily working hours.

 Article (105)  According to the work interest, the working woman may obtain an unpaid leave to foster her child or accompany her husband.  Article (106)  The installation shall post at the workplace the provisions governing the employment of women.

GENDER EMPOWERMENT ILO POINT OF VIEW.  Over the past decade the occupied Palestinian territory has witnessed a significant and persistent gender gap in labour force participation. While men's labour force participation rate has remained steady since 2000 (registering 68.7 per cent by June 2013) women's labour force participation rate has remained at less than a quarter of men's rate, albeit rising from 13 per cent in 2000 to 16 per cent by June  A significant gender pay gap also persists in the oPt where women's median daily wage is only 84 per cent of men's. Women's access to decent work in the oPt is also the result of the ramifications of the continued Israeli occupation, the limited employment opportunities generated by the Palestinian economy, the inadequate provision of social protection, as well as social norms prevailing in Palestinian society.