Statement Issued by Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU)
On the Occasion of the World Day Against Child Labor
“Palestinian Childhood Between Gaza’s Massacre and Exploitation in the Settlements”
This year’s World Day Against Child Labor comes at a time when Palestine is witnessing a dangerous escalation in the involvement of minors in the labor market, particularly in the West Bank, which suffers under a systematic financial and economic blockade. The fragmentation of cities by military checkpoints and the deprivation of thousands of workers from accessing their workplaces have pushed Palestinian families to the brink of poverty. This has forced many children to leave school and enter physically demanding jobs or street vending to secure necessities, a phenomenon that threatens to deplete Palestine’s future human resources.
PGFTU also documents a catastrophic phenomenon: the exploitation of Palestinian children within Israeli settlements, particularly in agriculture and date production in the Jordan Valley, which amounts to “modern slavery.” These children endure inhumane working conditions under scorching sun, receive minimal wages, have no legal protection or health insurance, and face the dangers of exposure to toxic pesticides. Settlement operators deliberately exploit the poverty of Palestinian families, forcing children into hazardous labor that violates all international laws and conventions.
In the besieged Gaza Strip, the ongoing genocidal war has created a tragic reality that exceeds all red lines. The complete destruction of the economic and educational systems has driven children into the streets to work in conditions beyond their physical capacity. This targeted devastation was not random; it aimed to destroy livelihoods, leading to a sharp increase in child labor as a forced response to policies of starvation and displacement imposed on hundreds of thousands of families.
The war has also produced the exceptional phenomenon of the “child breadwinner,” as thousands of parents have been killed in direct attacks. The absence of family heads has placed the burden of providing bread and water on children, forcing them to trade their right to education for long and dangerous hours collecting firewood or scavenging rubble, in a desperate effort to sustain orphaned siblings and provide minimal survival for their families.
Alongside loss, there is the tragedy of families whose primary earners are incapacitated due to serious injuries and permanent disabilities caused by Israeli bombardment. The presence of thousands of wounded parents who lost limbs has forced children to enter the labor market to compensate for their parents’ inability to work. This forced shift in family roles constitutes a blatant violation of economic and social rights, placing a heavy burden on the most vulnerable and deepening the social and psychological trauma of the younger generation.
PGFTU warns that the work performed by children today, especially in Gaza, is a “death-defying gamble” in environments contaminated with explosive remnants and unstable rubble, far from any occupational safety standards. The long-term physical and psychological impacts of being denied education, exposed to economic exploitation, and growing up in harsh labor conditions threaten the loss of an entire generation unless the international community acts immediately to halt these violations and protect the Palestinian child’s right to a dignified and safe life.
In conclusion, Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) calls on the International Labour Organization and global trade unions to impose sanctions on the occupation for violating child protection conventions and urges the provision of direct financial and material support to affected families to enable them to protect their children from forced labor. The dignity of the Palestinian child is inseparable from the dignity of the worker, and our union struggle will not cease until every child return to their school seat and Palestinian families regain the economic security necessary for freedom and independence.
Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU)
