PWWSD holds workshop titled “Basic Rights and Freedoms for Women Workers”
Nablus – The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) held a workshop in Nablus titled “Basic Rights and Freedoms for Women Workers”. About 20 young women from the beauty and cosmetic sector took part in the event. These workshops come as part of PWWSD’s project to support the rights and freedoms of Palestinian workers, implemented in partnership with the Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center and COSPE and with funding from the European Union.
The project aims to increase the capabilities of unions and grassroots community organizations in defending the basic rights and freedoms of Palestinian working women and men, and guaranteeing the implantation of international labor standards and international human rights law.
PWWSD Field Educator, Maysara Subuh opened the event by welcoming the participants, and introducing the organization and its programs and activities. Majd Abdullah, a lawyer, talked about union organizing between national laws and international efforts, the right to organize and union work in Palestinian legislature, as well as the concept of union organizing and its importance.
The workshop recorded a number of violations experienced by the participating women, including low wages, wage discrimination, working more than 8 hours, discrimination in the employer’s treatment of them, forcing workers to work on holidays, not implementing annual bonuses, threatening to terminate their employment, and not receiving benefits.
The participants concluded the workshop by requesting more of these sessions to reach a larger number of workers. They noted the need for women workers to organize in a union in order to defend their rights and protect themselves from violations.