Democracy and Workers' Rights Center

The Democracy and Workers' Rights Center (DWRC) is a Palestinian

Palestinian territories

The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...

non-governmental, non-profit organization, not affiliated with any political party. DWRC was established in 1993 by a group of trade unionists, lawyers, academics and political figures in Palestinian society to defend workers’ rights and promote social justice. Founders feature Hassan Barghouthi (General Secretary of the International Federation of Workers' Education Associations in Arab Countries), and Ghassan Khatib

Ghassan Khatib

Ghassan Khatib is a Palestinian politician. He was born in Nablus, in the West Bank, and is a member of the Palestinian People's Party. Khatib is married with three children. He was also a member of the Madrid Peace Delegation in 1991 and was involved in the Washington negotiations from 1991 to...

(former Planning Minister

Planning Minister of the Palestinian National Authority

The Planning Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority is the branch of the Palestinian government, that is responsible for cross-sector planning, developing comprehensive development policies with the participation of all relevant Palestinian institutions and to coordinate sector planning in...

and longtime journalist). DWRC is centered in Ramallah

Ramallah

Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...

with a branch office in Gaza City.

Significance

In 2000 the Palestinian President ratified the first Palestinian Labor Law. However, according to DWRC the Labor Law lacked teeth, and DWRC lawyers and organizers acted to work with Palestinian Authority legal experts to introduce amendments; late in 2005, DWRC successfully achieved Palestinian Legislative Council acceptance of an alternative Palestinian Labor Law.

Existing large-scale trade union federations in Palestine have long since ceased to be democratic according to a range of observers; the Fateh-dominated PGFTU has not had elections since 1981. DWRC, as an independent NGO which is not itself a trade union, has been at the forefront of calling the PGFTU to account within the Palestinian media as well as internationally, and has organized hundreds of democratic worker committees, pushing for a fully transparent Palestinian labor movement.

In 2007, DWRC organized the Federation of Independent & Democratic Trade Unions & Workers' Committees in Palestine

Federation of Independent & Democratic Trade Unions & Workers' Committees in Palestine

The Federation of Independent & Democratic Trade Unions & Workers' Committees in Palestine, representing 50,000 workers, was established in reaction to a lack of democracy within traditional Palestinian trade union federations...

, launching the first large-scale conference of democratic, independent Palestinian trade unions in decades, representing more than 50,000 female and male workers.

Significance

See also