GAZA: LABOR STRIKE CONTINUES (WHILE EXECUTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 001913 SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR GOLDBERGER/LENTZ; PRM FOR PRM/ANE; NSC FOR PASCUAL; TREASURY FOR AHERN; DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2013 TAGS: ELAB PHUM PTER EFIN PGOV KWBG SUBJECT: GAZA: LABOR STRIKE CONTINUES (WHILE EXECUTIVE FORCES TEACH KIDS) REF: JERUSALEM 1697 Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Public sector employee representatives said that the labor strike in Gaza, which began in August, will continue until the Hamas government halts its actions against employees perceived to be opposed to Hamas rule. Sixty to eighty percent of teachers are reportedly still participating in the strike; participation among health sector workers is somewhat lower. Hamas has fielded 4,000 replacement teachers, including a number of Executive Force members. Union leaders claim that Hamas is taking advantage of the strike to reshape the health and education sectors to further its political objectives. A UN mediation effort has apparently failed. End summary. Union leaders say the strike will continue... -------------- ¶2. (C) Ramallah-based Secretary General of the Teachers' Union Jamil Shihadeh told Econoff October 16 that the public sector strike in Gaza will continue until Hamas halts its discriminatory practices against employees - particularly in the education and health sectors - who are perceived as opposed to Hamas rule. He said that 80 percent of the teachers on the PA payroll in Gaza and 65 percent of employees in the health sector are abiding by the strike, which has continued for seven weeks (reftel). (Note: WHO contacts in Gaza estimate that health sector participation rates are lower and the strike's impact is increasingly focused on administrative offices, not health care providers. End note.) ...while Executive Force members "teach" class... -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Shihadeh claimed that most of the 4,000 replacement teachers hired by Hamas in September are completely unqualified and spend the day teaching children Hamas slogans and Islamic doctrine. He said the new teachers have limited education and many of them are members of the Hamas Executive Forces. Shihadeh said that parents are shifting their children from school to school in search of competent teachers. ...and teachers spend the day in jail. -------------- ¶4. (C) Union Of PA Employees Chairman Bassam Zakarneh (Fatah) told Econoff on October 16 that Hamas is increasing its pressure on striking workers, requiring those that do not show up for work to spend the day (8:00 am to 2:00 pm) in jail, or face arrest. (Hamas apparently forces male family members to report on behalf of striking female workers.) Zakarneh remarked that Hamas is taking advantage of the strike to reshape the education and health care sectors in Gaza to further its political objectives. ¶5. (C) UNSCO Robert Serry said privately to EconChief on October 17 that a UN effort to end the strike has failed. Serry noted that the UN had successfully gotten the health workers and the Hamas run "Ministry of Health" in Gaza together, but that an agreement to end the strike had broken down over Hamas' insistence to "punish" those responsible for organizing the strike. Serry said that he had the impression Hamas in Gaza is becoming "more extreme" and that a significant gap is opening up between the Hamas leadership in the West Bank and that in Gaza. Brief West Bank strike over -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Shihadeh noted that West Bank teachers were on strike October 15-16 over a contractual dispute with the PA that had nothing to do with the Gaza strike. He said those issues had been resolved following a meeting with the Prime Minister's office and West Bank teachers were back at work on October 18. WALLES