PRESS RELEASE

PCHR calls on the PA

for the full implementation of the civil service law

 

Ref.,: 9/99

Date: 25^th January, 1999

The dissatisfaction and disappointment was widespread among the civil servants in the areas under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority (PA) after they received vouchers for their salaries in December 1998. In November, employees of the governmental branches, namely teachers and civil servants of the fourth and fifth grades received pay increases in their salaries, however, they were shocked to find that the raise had been reduced by 30 percent in December.

The President of the PA declared that the civil service law would be implemented for teachers and civil servants of the fourth and fifth grades in November and the rest of the employees would follow in due course in December 1998. This was decided after a strike was conducted by teachers because of low salaries, especially after the reduction of the rate of exchange of the Israeli shekel vis-à-vis the American dollar.

This disappointment and dissatisfaction was widespread among civil servants on January 6, 1999 after they received the vouchers for December 1998. They were disappointed in the decrease in the original raise that they had received in November. Different sectors of the employees began different protest actions in and out of the workplace. Many of the heads of the sections of the ministries and agencies of the PA gathered in front of the General Personnel Council at the PA’s governmental complex. They began a partial strike because of the decrease in their salaries.

Civil servants in the health sector also launched other protest activities. They held a partial strike for three days beginning on January 6, 1999. More than 7,000 health employees, including doctors, protested the so-called temporary financial settlement. The doctors did not receive the professional and specialized bonuses that they thought they would receive. They also demanded that the PA fully calculate the years of service and carry out the implementation of the law under the principle of equality.

In an escalated step, the Doctors’ Union in Gaza began an open strike on Wednesday, January 6 requesting the fulfillment of their demands. They declared that they would continue their strike until the PA responded positively to their demands. However, the employees returned back to work after Mr. Arafat issued a decision by which the law of the civil service was frozen and there was a return to the previous salaries and degree scale. In addition to providing a fair increase in their salaries, there was a return to calculating overtime as was done under the previous system.

Moreover, the engineers who are civil servants began a warning strike in front of the Legislative Council in Gaza on January 14, 1999 to protest the negligence of the law pertaining to their rights.

The Palestinian Legislative Council adopted the law on June 3, 1997 and referred it to the President who endorsed it on May 28, 1998. The law was published in the official gazette on July 1, 1998 and entered into force on August 1, 1998. The PA began to implement the law in November 1998 when it gave civil servants raises that were still not clearly spelled out.

In the aftermath of the protest activities by civil servants, the PA decided to establish a commission headed by President Arafat. A number of relevant ministers were included as members. The commission was to examine the implementation of the law and to overcome its shortcomings to prevent any prejudice in the allotment of civil servants’ salaries. There were many disagreements regarding the implementation of the law between the different concerned parties, especially the Ministry of Finance, the General Personnel Council, and some members of the aforementioned presidential commission. The implementation of the law was accompanied by a number of mistakes. This led the Ministry of Finance to claim that it was only an executive body. A number of members of the commission considered the Ministry of Finance and the General Personnel Council responsible for the incorrect implementation of the law.

Furthermore, 30 judges in the Gaza Strip began a one-hour warning strike on January 6, 1999 to protest the implementation of the law as it resulted in a decrease in their salaries.

PCHR reaffirms the following:

1. The civil law came became law on August 1, 1998 and therefore all relevant bodies with responsibility for implementation should carry it out from that time according to Article 3 of the law. While the financial side of the law was partially implemented in November 1998, it was imperative to implement the administrative side directly after it entered into force as it could overcome many of the problems that accompanied the implementation of the financial side later.
2. The administrative side of the law needs executive codes issued by the government or other executive bodies to overcome any shortcomings that could result from the implementation of the law.
3. The law gives the executive authority the right to gradually implement the law’s financial side, in accordance with the PA’s resources (Article 1). However, Articles 3 and 5 of the law reaffirmed that the Legislative Council should approve any modifications in the salary scale. This did not take place when the executive authority implemented the financial side of the law. This implementation resulted in sharp criticism from members of the Legislative Council.
4. The major mistake which resulted in a wide wave of protest among civil servants is related to the implementation of the law itself. The executive authority, namely the Council of Ministers and the General Personnel Council, incorrectly implemented the law on the financial side. In fact, the new law not only provides new raises that were not in the old law, but it also prevents any decrease in the salary of any civil servant.
5. The implementation of the new law should not prejudice the acquired rights of the employees, however, the incorrect implementation of the financial side of the law resulted in numerous cases of prejudice. This is a serious shortcoming that should be remedied as soon as possible.
6. PCHR asks the President of the PA not to include judges in the implementation of the law. The judges should be treated separately and the law of the independence of the judiciary should be promulgated in regard to them as soon as possible.
7. The increase of the costs of living and the decrease in the rate of exchange of the shekel vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar are important factors that should be taken into serious consideration regarding the implementation of the law.
8. The PA is obliged to fully implement the law so that the different sectors of the civil servants will be treated without discrimination and on an equal footing.
9. The Legislative Council as a legislative authority has great responsibility regarding the implementation of the law that it adopted as well as the responsibility of modifying it in case there are any shortcomings. The provisions of the law are not set in stone and can therefore be modified in the same way in which the law was adopted.

PCHR welcomes the decision of the President to stop the incorrect implementation of the law. PCHR asks the PA to seriously review the aforementioned implementation of the law and to act as soon as possible to issue the proper regulations to implement the law to increase the standard of living of civil servants living in a deteriorating economic situation. Salary payments should be made retroactively to include the time period in which salaries were frozen.

 

“END”