Global Network Arab countries - Female kindergartens workers demonstrate in front of the Palestinian Council of Ministers on the occasion of International Human Rights Day

On Saturday December 10, 2011, hundreds of female workers in kindergartens and day-care centres from different governorates in the West Bank participated in a rally organized by the Kindergarten and Private Schools Employees' Union, the Federation of Independent Unions -Palestine (FIUP), in cooperation with the Democracy and Workers Rights Center. Marking the occasion of the International Human Rights day, they first gathered in front of the High Commissioner for Human Rights office in Ramallah and handed over a letter calling for the United Nations to shoulder its responsibilities to stop Israeli occupation crimes and acknowledge the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State.

Then the rally moved to the Council of Ministries headquarter in Ramallah, where the Kindergarten Union members staged a sit-in and spoke out against their dire situation and the marginalization of their role in the society. Ms. Amal Khreisheh, director of the Palestinian Working Woman Society, expressed her support to this unprecedented gathering of female kindergarten workers and praised the progress achieved by the union, which her organization helped established. The Kindergarten Union representatives delivered a letter of demands to Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, demanding the government's support for the realization of their rights by setting a minimum wage, ensuring the application of labour law in their workplaces and enforcing compulsory education in kindergartens. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad spoke to the assembled teachers, expressing his support to their claims for their labour rights.

Kindergarten workers assembled at Palestinian Council of Ministers and meeting with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad

After meeting with the Prime Minister, the female kindergarten workers marched to Palestinian Legislative Council and then to the center of Ramallah city, chanting their demands. They highlighted in particular their low wages and their hope that public authorities will take action, in slogans like "One kilogram of meat costs 70 shekels, we only earn an average of 20 shekels daily!", "We want dignity!", "President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, hear our demands and adopt them!".

Kindergarten workers demonstration in front of Palestinian Legislative Council & in Al-Manara square

In addition to the three main demands highlighted above, Mrs. Hoda Dweik, president of the Hebron branch of the Kindergarten Workers' Union, said her union is asking for paid vacations, including during the 3 months summer break, activation of supervision and inspection by the Ministries of Education and Labor, identification of job titles, employment contracts for workers, an annual increase and bonuses, improving the outlook of community kindergarten teachers, and determining work hours .

Furthermore, Teacher Sana Al-Zorba from an elementary school in the city of Nablus, clarified that  everyone has to work in order to speak out against the injustice done to kindergarten teachers , as there are dozens of them with bachelor's degree and even Masters' degrees, who earn only 500 shekels per month. She note that for the same salary, teachers are in many cases also expected to help with administrative tasks in their workplaces.  This was confirmed by teacher Aida Shabana from Ramallah Governorate, who mentioned that the salary earned by teachers does not suffice to cover the simplest requirements of life, not to mention rising prices of basic consumer goods that further decrease their purchasing power.

Another kindergarten teacher from the Southern Governorates said that in the kindergarten where she works, the 3 months summer vacation is paid but after deducting a monthly amount from their wages; instead of being paid 600 shekels per month, they end up with 415 shekels.
On the other hand, she declared that only two teachers from the seven kindergartens in her Governorate participated in the rally, because many teachers fear that they will be dismissed from work if they get involved in protests for their rights.

For the past months, the Democracy and Workers' Rights Center has intensified its cooperation with the Kindergarten Workers' Union to enable them to voice their demands in front of decision-makers and strengthen their union. Thus, they were able to open a new branch for their union in Hebron governorate and increase their affiliates. DWRC also released a report on the situation of kindergarten workers in the West Bank, highlighting that two thirds of the workers are not obtaining paid annual, sick leave or maternity leave and that 86% do not obtain severance pay. The report also showed extremely low wage levels: 7% of surveyed workers earn less than 400 shekels per month (this also concerns workers with up to 15 years of experience), 25.6% between 400 and 600 shekels, 38.4% between 601 and 800 shekels, 23.3% between 801 and 1000 shekels, and only 5.7% over 1000 shekels. In comparison, a public sector teacher in primary schools earns around 1500 shekels when starting his or her carrier.