AhlulBayt News Agency - The General Federation of Trade Unions in Gaza said Friday that 70% of Gaza's workers are below the poverty line, while unemployment rate has reached 60 percent with some 213,000 workers unemployed.
Ahead of International Workers’ Day on May 1, the Trade Unions issued an infographic detailing the deteriorating situation of Gaza’s workers over the past year.
The infographic showed that 2015 was the worst for Gaza’s workers as the unemployment rate has reached 60 percent among them with some 213,000 workers unemployed.
The Israeli 10-year siege on Gaza sharply affected the industrial and agricultural fields in Gaza Strip, according to the Trade Unions.
Nearly 70,000 workers were directly and indirectly working in the building and construction sector; however, the Israeli siege and repetitive closure of Gaza’s crossings led to almost complete shortage of building materials.
Between 35,000 and 40,000 farmers were working in the agricultural sector; however their number fell by 15,000 due to the Israeli siege.
9,000 employees were working in textiles sector before their numbers were decreased to reach only 1,000.
The infographic indicated that 936 industrial facilities were damaged due to the Israeli 2014 aggression on Gaza, 3227 commercial facilities were also destroyed, while 1171 service sector facilities were damaged other than 70 facilities of tourism sector.
According to the infographic, 70 Palestinian fishermen were arrested while 40 fishing boats were confiscated since the ceasefire agreement in August 2014.
The Trade Unions said that Egyptian authorities released seven Palestinian fishermen after more than a year of their detention and arrested nine others last March.
The infographic pointed out that two Palestinian fishermen were shot and killed by Israeli and Egyptian gunfire while sailing off Gaza shores.
The Trade Unions also slammed the Palestinian unity government for failing to pay the Gaza employees’ salaries since it was formed.
Civil servants in Gaza have not been regularly paid since the formation of the unity government; although Hamas Movement struggled to pay their salaries regularly even before that.
The status of government employees following the formation of the unity government, meanwhile, has remained in dispute, worsening already faltering livelihoods of several Gazans.
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