BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority premier said Sunday that full salaries for the month of July would be paid Tuesday, following strike threats from a union representing government employees.
But Salam Fayyad said that "the payment of full salaries will significantly reduce the ability of the Palestinian Authority to meet other needs during the next month.”
Fayyad urged patience, saying he would continue to make tireless efforts to secure foreign aid that needed to overcome the crisis and enable the Palestinian Authority to meet all of its commitments.
The commitment came shortly after Bassam Zakarna, head of the government workers' union in the West Bank, warned that he would lead an open-ended strike if salaries were not paid.
"This financial crisis is made up, and the government adopts a policy of blackout to frustrate employees and citizens while the treasury has enough money to pay full salaries," Zakarna said Sunday.
He added: "The government has not updated the union on anything."
Zakarna said the union had asked government officials when salaries would be paid for July.
"We asked different concerned officials and all they say is: 'We asked the prime minister and minister of finance when salaries will be paid, and they just do not get back to us.'"
The Palestinian Authority says it is facing a financial crisis because donor countries, and particularly Arab governments, have failed to deliver pledged aid.
The shortfalls have plunged the West Bank government into dire financial straits, forcing the prime minister to announce that government employees would receive half-pay in June.
Salaries for July have yet to be paid at all, and with the holy month of Ramadan -- which comes with extra expenses -- about to start Monday, government workers said they saw no alternative but to go on strike to demand their wages.
The PA employs about 170,000 people in the West Bank and Gaza, where its employees continue to receive salaries even though the Hamas government has replaced them with its own civil servants.
The West Bank government has been warning for months now that it faces an impending financial crunch because of the failure of donors to deliver promised aid.
Last week, Fayyad presented a specially-convened session of the Arab League with details of the crisis and called on representatives at the Cairo meeting to make good on their aid pledges to the PA.
The government "urgently needs $300 million to overcome the bottleneck and deal with the financial crisis," he said.
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