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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: June 1, 2006 |
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More than 100,000 Palestinian public service workers will fail to receive paychecks for the third month in a row after the finance minister admitted his Hamas-led government has raised only enough money to pay the ones who earn the least -- evidence that Western sanctions are taking a painful toll.
June's payday arrived Thursday with only the promise of partial payments to 40,000 of the 165,000 workers.
Not only did the Palestinian leadership backtrack Wednesday from a day-old pledge to give some money to all 165,000 workers, but also, the finance ministry announced new austerity measures that will pull belts painfully tighter.
The cash crunch is fanning flames of the sometimes violent rivalry between Hamas and Fatah, the movement it replaced in office.
Fatah-backed unions and workers have been demonstrating against the government, demanding payment of salaries. Workers have been dipping into savings and doing without nonessential items, but their resources are running out and discontent is rising.
The Palestinian government is the largest employer in the West Bank and Gaza, with one-third of families dependent on a government salary.
Western sanctions imposed after the militant Islamic group formed its government in March have bankrupted the Palestinian Authority and led to widespread hardships. Israel, the U.S. and European Union list Hamas as a terror organization and refuse to give it funding.
The Hamas-led government has received some funds from taxes and donations by local businessmen, but falling far short of what's needed to keep public services going.
Finance Minister Omar Abdel Razek said the government has raised money to pay only the 40,000 workers with the lowest salaries, who are to receive $333.
"When we have enough money for the rest, we will pay. We don't know when," Abdel Razek said. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas pledged that amount for all the workers.
Bassam Zakarna, head of the Palestinian Authority employees' union, was critical.
"The government is not solving the problem, or even part of the problem. On the contrary, it is creating a new problem," he said.
Most of the workers eligible to be paid are in the security forces, dominated by Fatah, the movement of President Mahmoud Abbas. The decision to pay them may be a way for Hamas to reduce tension or buy the loyalty of the armed men -- a tactic Fatah used when the late Yasser Arafat was in power, partially explaining the huge public payroll.
In an address to his parliament on Wednesday, Abdel Razek read out a list of austerity measures aimed at streamlining the bloated public sector.
The measures include firing workers who do not show up for their jobs, stopping most overtime payments, retiring 5,000 workers and ending fuel subsidies. Abdel Razek pledged aid for families that can't pay for fuel and electricity without subsidies, underlining the fragile condition of the economy.
Abbas, a moderate, has been trying to force Hamas into a more centrist position, setting a June 6 deadline for results from a dialogue before calling a referendum on a document that implicitly recognizes Israel, a key international demand. But the first three days of the dialogue have produced no agreement, and Hamas has rejected the deadline. |
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