October 15, 2007

Israel's Supreme Court has ruled that relations between Israeli employers and Palestinian employees in the West Bank are subject to Israel's labor laws. The petition was brought by NIF grantee Workers' Hotline: Kav LaOved on behalf of two Palestinian employees of the Givat Zeev Local Council.

With an estimated 275,000 Jews living in the West Bank employing numerous Palestinians in the public and private sectors, the precedent-setting ruling has major implications for Israeli-Palestinian relations. Givat Zeev itself is a city of 11,000 residents northwest of Jerusalem.

Palestinian workers in the West Bank employed by Israelis
will now enjoy full social benefits.

In the Supreme Court verdict, the nine judge panel unanimously accepted the claim of Workers' Hotline attorney Alex Spinard, that the two Palestinian employees were entitled to basic social benefits enshrined in Israel's labor laws, such as the minimum wage and severance pay.

Workers' Hotline, which provides legal and practical assistance to Israeli, Palestinian and foreign migrant workers whose rights have been violated, claimed that it is discriminatory to apply different laws for different workers performing similar jobs. Moreover, Workers' Hotline argued that the specific employer in question, the Givat Zeev Local Authority, is an Israeli governmental authority, and should therefore not apply foreign laws to its workers. Workers' Hotline and the two Palestinian employees also received the backing of Israel's Histadrut Trade Union Movement.

The verdict overruled a decision by the National Labor Court, which felt that Israeli law should not be applied in the territories. But Israeli Supreme Court Justice Salim Joubran rejected the National Labor Court’s ruling. “The distinction on the basis of nationality is improper,” he said, “and tantamount to discrimination.”