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Viewing cable 06JERUSALEM2672, PA EMPLOYEES STRIKE IN PROTEST OF UNPAID SALARIES

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06JERUSALEM2672 2006-06-27 14:44 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Jerusalem
VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJM #2672 1781444
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 271444Z JUN 06
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3053
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC IMMEDIATE
UNCLAS JERUSALEM 002672 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR 
WILLIAMS/GREENE/WATERS/WAECHTER; NSC FOR 
ABRAMS/DORAN/LOGERFO; TREASURY FOR NUGENT/ADKINS; USAID FOR 
BORODIN; DRL FOR DEMARIA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN PHUM KLAB KWBG
SUBJECT: PA EMPLOYEES STRIKE IN PROTEST OF UNPAID SALARIES 
 
REF: A. JERUSALEM 2577 
 
     B. JERUSALEM 2545 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary: Palestinian Authority (PA) workers in the 
West Bank and Gaza went on strike June 22 in protest of 
non-payment of salaries.  Municipal workers in some 
localities also went on strike.  The PA Employees Union 
called off a planned June 28-29 strike due to 
political/security developments in Gaza.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (SBU) PA employees participated in a one-day strike June 
22 at PA ministries and public institutions in the West Bank 
and Gaza, per the directive made by the PA Employees Union 
(ref A).  Participation was widespread in the West Bank, 
including at the Ministries of Transportation, National 
Economy and Planning.  USAID Gaza-based staff reported poor 
participation by PA employees in Gaza, possibly due to an 
earlier disbursement of partial salaries in Gaza.  The PA 
Employees Union excluded Ministry of Health (MOH) employees 
and teachers from the from the call to strike (ref A). 
 
3.  (SBU) According to press reports, the PA Employees Union 
Coordinator Tarik el-Sheikh said the strike was not intended 
to indicate a party preference, but to highlight the 
predicament faced by public sector employees, who had not 
received salaries in the last four months and could not 
afford to pay for public transportation to get to work.   PA 
employees also protested the postponement of a Palestinian 
Legislative Council (PLC) session to discuss this issue. 
(Note:  The PLC had started to discuss the issue June 19, but 
then agreed to suspend discussion based on positive reports 
from the National Dialogue sessions in Gaza.  End Note.) 
 
PA to dock strikers' annual leave 
--------------------------------- 
 
4.  (SBU) In response to the strikes, the PA said that it 
would deduct the days that the PA employees were absent from 
their accumulated annual leave.  Some ministries had tried to 
pre-empt the strike by issuing a circular to dissuade 
employees from participating.  Contacts reported to 
EconSpecialist that many government services were unavailable 
June 22, such as drivers' license renewals and vehicle 
registration.  The Post Office remained open only to continue 
paying partial salaries to PA employees, some of whom had to 
wait in line for 3.5 hours. 
 
Municipality workers also striking 
---------------------------------- 
 
5.  (SBU) There were also sporadic strikes in some 
municipalities, including Ramallah on June 26, because of 
non-payment of salaries.  (Note: The PA Finance Ministry 
collects local property taxes on behalf of municipalities 
and, in the past, transferred the revenue to the 
municipalities through the Ministry of Local Government. 
Given the PA's decreased revenue collection, municipalities 
are not receiving their normal levels of revenue from the PA. 
 End Note.) 
 
6.  (SBU) Arabic daily Al-Quds reported June 27 that the PA 
Employees Union had canceled a strike that it had organized 
for June 28 and 29 due to the June 25 political and security 
developments in Gaza.  The Union had originally appealed to 
PA employees to participate in a work stoppage at their 
workplace to protest the PA's neglect of PA workers. 
WALLES