Palestine: Global unions file ILO complaint to recover wages of over 200,000 Palestinian workers in Israel

9 global unions, including the IUF, have filed a complaint against the Israeli government for blatant violations of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Protection of Wages Convention. The complaint highlights the obligations of Israeli authorities to redress and remedy a range of abuses, including unpaid wages and withheld benefits for more than 200,000 Palestinian workers employed in Israel.

• These abuses have led to millions of dollars of lost income, causing severe financial insecurity, economic distress, deprivation of basic services, and widespread hardship for the affected workers and their families, who have no access to judicial remedies
• Filed on September 27, 2024, under article 24 of the ILO Constitution, the joint complaint details the exploitative conditions faced by more than 200,000 Palestinian workers from the West Bank and Gaza, formally or informally employed in Israel at the time of the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023; these workers have experienced widespread wage theft due to the suspension of work permits and the unilateral termination of their contracts
• According to ILO estimates, the average daily wage for Palestinian workers employed in Israel under regular work permits was 297.30 shekels (79 USD); for more than a year, Palestinian workers have been unable to recover their outstanding wages or settle wage debts

BWI General Secretary Ambet Yuson stated, "International law is clear: no crisis, not even war, can justify the suspension of labour rights or the denial of justice to workers. Palestinian workers, many of whom were employed in Israels' construction sector, have the right to be paid their outstanding wages. We will not be satisfied until justice is delivered for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian workers who have been denied their due, and a ceasefire is reached."