PA to fire 70,000 employees in austerity drive

The head of the Palestinian Syndication of Public Sector Employees, Bassam Zakarneh, warned on Wednesday against the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) plan to fire 70,000 employees, Anadolu agency reported.

The warning followed the public announcement of the PA’s austerity plan on Tuesday.

Zakarneh wrote on his Facebook page that the PA government is seeking, in cooperation with the IMF, to reduce the number of employees from 150,000 to 70,000 within three years.

“The government is planning to fire the employees affiliated to industrial unions, factions and those who spent 28 years in service,” Zakarneh explained.

He noted that this plan was already prepared and put in action. The plan includes the devolution and merging of several ministries.

Zakarneh called for other syndications to stand steadfast in the face of this plan, which he claims includes “dangerous details”. He called for them not to allow the PA government in Ramallah to “bury them alive.”