RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian unions vowed on Tuesday to keep striking despite assurances from president Mahmud Abbas that salaries would be paid after a deal on a national unity government which could lead to renewed Western aid payments.‘These statements by Abu Mazen (Abbas) won’t stop the strike’ that started 10 days ago, Bassam Zakarna, chairman of the public sector employees’ union, told AFP. ‘Abbas’s promise is for the media, not for us. We want
Earlier, Abbas promised civil servants striking in front of his Gaza City office that they would receive within weeks wages unpaid in full since the Islamist Hamas movement formed a cabinet in March. ‘I hope that with God’s help the salaries will begin to be paid before the start of Ramadan. Things are progressing in a good direction,’ he said.
| So far Allan's not provided Mahmoud with a pot of gold ... |
| It'll fool the Euros of course, but I'm hoping Dubya and Condi know better. |
Abbas appealed for the unions, which are thought to be close to his Fatah party, to end the action after he and the Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya announced the deal on the coalition government Monday.
But the unions rejected his calls. ‘This strike is not connected to the type of government and it will continue because what matters to us is the payment of our salaries,’ Zakarna told reporters Monday. Teachers’ union head Jamil Shahada said: ‘We promised union members that their demands would be met and the strike will continue as long as that is not the case.’
| In one small way it's amazing: the Paleos actually are demanding accountability from their leaders. A small way, I know. |