The strike, which has been announced more than once by employees at north Gaza, Gaza City and Rafah municipalities, continues due to the suspension of the workers' monthly payments.
Although the suspension of salaries is a common problem from which all employees at the governmental sector suffer, employees at local authorities complain from less frequent and more irregularity of monthly loans as well; their employers have owed them payments of more than seven months.
Al Mezan issued a press release on 22 March 2007, in which it expressed solidarity with the employees, called upon the PNA to meet their rightful demands and warned about neglecting them Employees at four municipalities went on strike on 7 April 2007, in a protest against deferring their payments for several months; they threatened to start an open, full strike until they received their salaries.
The sanitation department in Rafah Municipality announced a total strike on 1 April 2007, and workers refused to collect solid waste.
In conjunction, employees at Jablia/Nazla Municipality announced a strike on 3 April 2007.
The strike spread to Gaza Municipality on 7 April 2007 and Beit Lahia Municipality on 10 April 2007.
Employees at all municipalities threatened to suspend the entire municipal services including the water and sewage system departments.
Such an alarming situation warns of a serious risk on public health, most notably when the consequences of the sewage leak in north Gaza on 27 March 2007 are considered.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights renews its solidarity with Local Authorities' workers and reemphasizes their legal right to strike and undertake legal procedures in order to meet their demands.
Al Mezan is highly concerned with the expanded and continued strike that has paralyzed municipal services, notably sanitation, water and sewage services.
The strike, if continued, will lead to a further deterioration of the public health and will bring about further environmental pollution in the Gaza Strip.
Further, Al Mezan warns about the malfunction of sewage services, which could result in an accumulation and infiltration of sewage water within domestic sewage network and waste pipes in Al Saftawi area in JabaliaIt also highlights the exceptional importance to increase the effectiveness of municipal functioning at the time being, particularly in north Gaza, which has suffered an environmental disaster two weeks ago.
Al Mezan therefore calls upon the Palestinian government to ensure equality in securing salaries to employees at Local Authorities, in line with their counterparts in the governmental sector, before a general strike is announced by all municipalities.
This would have negative effects on the environment, the general hygiene in the OPT and undermine the already deteriorating status of human rights in the Gaza Strip.
The Center underlines the importance of supporting Local Authorities, especially considering the failure of the government to undertake its obligations towards Local Authorities.
The Center calls upon the Ministry of Local Government (MLG) to take effective steps that would implement rulings similar to those of the Civil Service, and secure regular payments to municipalities' employees.
The MLG should provide a radical solution to these problems rather than temporal ones by identifying measures to improve means of collecting revenues that are due to municipalities from persons who maintained their incomes during the Intifada.
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