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Palestinians set first private sector minimum wage
[France24] The Paleostinian government on Tuesday approved a minimum wage of 1,450 shekels ($376, 290 euros) a month for the private sector, labour minister Ahmed Majdalani said.

"This is an unprecedented decision... on which we can build," Majdalani told AFP, dismissing criticism that the rate was to low.

Responding to a call by Paleostinian trade unions, scores of workers demonstrated outside the parliament building, chanting: "The poor do not agree with Fayyad."

Tuesday's vote also set a daily private sector minimum wage of 65 shekels ($16.80, 13 euros) and an hourly floor of 8.5 shekels ($2.20, 1.7 euros). It is the result of recommendations made by a committee of government and trade union officials and employers' representatives, after 18 months of discussions.

Shaher Saad, head of the Paleostine General Federation of Trade Unions, said that the low minimum would "further encourage the exodus of Paleostinian labour to Israeli settlements and abroad."
More than that, the unions threaten to strike, according to Ma'an News:
After a national committee announced the first minimum wage in Paleostine at 1450 shekels ($375), the general federation of Paleostinian trade unions has threatened to take serious steps against the decision if it is approved by the cabinet.

“We decided to boycott the wage committee meeting on Sunday because we refuse the suggested figure,” secretary-general of the federation Shahir Saad told Ma’an Sunday evening.

The federation, he said, consists of 14 trade unions and 87,000 subscribers, and is united in its opposition to the minimum wage level.

Saad said the federation had agreed to lower its original proposal of 2,400 shekels ($620), in line with the poverty line in Paleostine, to 1,750 shekels ($450).

They will never approve a lower figure, which "is too small compared to the high cost of living," he said.

He highlighted that the minimum wage in Israel is 4,300 shekels ($1,115), three times that of Paleostine, despite the fact that the cost of living is quite similar. He warned that if Paleostinian employers lower their salaries, more workers will seek better wages in Israeli settlements.

The federation will send a message to the cabinet ministers asking them not to approve the recommendations of the wage committee, according to Saad.

They are ready to organize demonstrations and strikes if the cabinet does approve the minimum wage level as it stands, he said.
Posted by: Fred 2012-10-10
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=353551