West Bank Palestinians protest social-security law

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank are protesting against social-security legislation due to go into effect early next month.

Gathering at Ramallah's Al-Manara Square, protesters demanded that implementation of the law be postponed.

Demonstrators also called for the resignation of Palestinian Labor Minister Maamoun Abu Shahla, who is also chairman of the Ramallah-based government’s Social Security Administration.

The campaign against the legislation was recently launched on social media platforms by a number of Palestinian activists.

“We support the idea of an institution devoted to social welfare, but we want to see certain provisions of the legislation amended,” protest organizer Amer Hamdan told Anadolu Agency on Monday.

Campaigners, Hamdan said, want to see the law’s implementation postponed “until all its provisions can first be discussed” by labor unions and civil society.

The legislation calls for deducting 7.2 percent of private-sector employees’ monthly salaries for a social-security fund (which employers would also be expected to pay into) and setting the national retirement age -- for both men and women -- at 60 years.

The Palestinian Legislative Council (parliament) has remained largely non-functional since 2007 due to fundamental political differences between Hamas (which runs Gaza) and Fatah (which controls the West Bank-based Palestinian government).