The Agreement regulating wage and job conditions of Palestinian workers is the 2nd one signed by the independent Union in this Industrial Zone
Workers Committee Member Osama Abu Rizek: “Worker solidarity and the connection with WAC-MAAN ensured the success of our struggle.”
On Wednesday July 24, 2019, WAC-MAAN, the independent Trade Union Center, signed a Collective Agreement with N. A. Metal Industries in Mishor Adumim. The agreement is the second the union has reached in the area, and it occurs amid a wave of new organizing drives led by WAC among Palestinians employed in the Israeli settlements. The first Collective Agreement in Area C was signed by the union with the Zarfati Garage in 2017 (see here).
The agreement with N. A. Metal was reached within the context of a bridging process aided by Mediator and Retired Judge Ornit Agassi. It will add hundreds of shekels to the workers’ monthly salaries, as well as compensation for the period in which they received no overtime pay and no pension fund payments as the law requires. The total compensation for these past debts amounts to about NIS 300,000, which will be divided among the 11 workers in accordance with seniority. In addition, the agreement regulates relations and procedures for resolving disputes with management, thus preventing arbitrary and unilateral actions.
Workers Committee member, Osama Abu Rizek, expressed his colleagues’ appreciation for the trade union: “WAC-MAAN worked intensively to reach the desired result and ensure our rights. This achievement is the result of our united front and absolute adherence to WAC-MAAN. As the saying goes, “Persist in the fight and you’ll get your right!”
WAC-MAAN sees this new agreement, which comes as a rising number of Palestinians are joining its ranks, as a reflection of its unique character. The union unites Israeli and Palestinian workers as equals, both blue and white collar, including art and music teachers, cleaning and agriculture workers, employees of non-profits and others. WAC-MAAN is growing by organizing Palestinians workers in the Settlements, thus making a vital contribution toward a future of equality, community, and peace.
++++WAC-MAAN has recently released a comprehensive report summarizing ten years of struggle to organize Palestinian workers in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Read the report here
