Geneva: Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Gilbert F. Houngbo has detailed, in his latest report, the worsening conditions for workers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, specifically in Gaza and the West Bank. According to Kuwait News Agency, the report was presented during the 113th session of the Organization's International Labour Conference. It cautioned against "an unprecedented humanitarian social and economic catastrophe" due to the ongoing war, blockade, and the occupying power's expansion of settlements, which are accompanied by severe violations of basic human rights. The findings revealed that over 50,000 Palestinians, including numerous workers and business owners, have been killed in Gaza. The military offensive and blockade have displaced nearly 90 percent of the population, leading to the near-total destruction of infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, ports, and farms, with the labor market collapsing entirely. Additionally, the report indicated that more than 280 UN-affiliated institutions have ceased operations or were destroyed, while most private enterprises have lost their productive capacity. Unemployment in Gaza has reached 69 percent, rising to over 80 percent among youth, amid a severe cash shortage and unprecedented food price increases due to Israeli occupation restrictions on aid and goods. In the West Bank, the report highlighted a sharp escalation in settlement activity since the war began, with over 365 new settlements and outposts established. This has been accompanied by organized settler violence and restrictions on Palestinian workers' movement, resulting in the loss of approximately 140,000 jobs in the occupied territory and settlements, with an estimated annual wage loss of USD three billion. The report also warned of a worsening financial crisis for the Palestinian Authority, triggered by the occupying power's withholding of over three billion shekels in tax revenues and declining international aid. This has led to reduced public s alaries, shrinking public expenditure, and deteriorating social protection. The compounded impact of the war on women and youth was noted, with female unemployment reaching 73 percent and over 70 percent of youth not engaged in employment, education, or training. This trend could deepen poverty and erode human capital in the long term. The ILO Director-General emphasized that lasting peace cannot be achieved without social justice, an immediate end to the occupation, lifting the Gaza blockade, and the resumption of peace efforts. He stressed that decent job creation must be central to recovery and reconstruction. He also underscored the international community's responsibility to protect Palestinian workers' rights and provide urgent support for economic recovery and job creation within a framework that ensures human dignity and sustainable development. The report concluded with several key recommendations, including the urgent pursuit of a political solution based on the two-state framework, immediate int ernational protection for civilian workers and humanitarian institutions, and the launch of a large-scale international reconstruction and job creation program focused on dignity, sustainability, and ending the blockade on Gaza. In the general debate of the Conference, the Chair of the Workers' Group and ILO Governing Body Vice-President for Workers' Affairs, Catelene Passchier, declared that the world is witnessing "the collapse of humanity" and that the situation in Gaza is both a humanitarian and a labor and social justice catastrophe. She warned of the total failure of the global system and called on the occupying power to end its policies of starvation and the weaponization of food and humanitarian aid in Gaza, as well as to halt illegal settlement expansion in other occupied Palestinian territories and the occupied Syrian Golan. She emphasized the need to ensure that thousands of Palestinians return to their jobs and are fully compensated for their lost rights.
Menu
