PALESTINIAN SOCIETY - Fafo

where income appears at the timeof produce sale, even if reflectingwork carried out
throughout the whole agricultural season.
30 Part-time workers were defined as persons working 6 weeks or less during the
last two months prior to the survey. Full-time workers as persons working 7 weeks
or more during the same time period.
31 Use of low income as criterion for invisible underemployment is problematic
because low income may reflect the institutional set-up rather than low labour
productivity. This problem is perhaps most clearly exempIified by unpaid family
labour among women and children. In family enterprises it may be particularly
difficult to trace the individual income components required to measure invisible
underemployment.
32 A measurement system called "labourutiIization" has been used in Hong Kong,
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. For operational
reasons, ICLS (International Conference on Labour Studies) has recommended that
statistical measurement of underemployment be Iimited to visible underemployment
on ly (Ibid p. 145).
As an indicator for under-utiIization of skilIs, the share of employed persons
who have more than 13 years of education, but work in vocational or non-skiIIed
jobs, has been estimated. These persons constitute 3% of the labour force in the
occupied territories, 4% in Gaza and 2% in the West Bank. The problem of
underemployment deserves more attention and research. Data requirements are
such that separate surveys may be required.
33 Note that as much as 213 ofGaza's population are UNRWA refugees. The score
forthis group is thus also largely decisi ve in determining the regional score forGaza.
34 In the following discussion we wiII use the concept "employed persons" as labour
force members who, in the summer of 1992, had worked at least one month in the
preceding year. See the Labour Table Appendix for a further discussion.
35 See Table A.7.8, Table A.7.9, Table A.7.1O, Table A.7.11 and Table A.7.12 in
the Labour Table Appendix for references to the discussion in this section.
36 See also the discussion on labour force participation in the first part of this
chapter.
37 Relatively small wage differences, geographical distances and the need for
permissions Iead to very Iittle labour migration between Gaza and other regions in
the occupied territories. Within the main regions of the occupied territories,
geographical distances should normally be a small er obstacle than in most Less
Developed Countries due to small distances and a relatively advanced communication
system. Restrictions on entry into (IsraeIi annexed) Arab Jerusalem, however,
in effect separate the northern part ofthe West Bank from the southem part. Frequent
curfews in the central parts of the Gaza Strip similarly separate the greaterGaza City
area from the southern part of the Strip.
38 See Table A. 7.13 and Table A.7 .14 in the Labour Table Appendix for references
to the discussion in this section.
39 This low number may partially have been caused by a survey measurement
system which faces problems encompassing unpaid family work, a form of
production predominantly found in agriculture.
40 This result is partially due to a higher share of the labour force in Gaza employed
in Israel where job stability is lower than foremployment in the occupied territories.
Also for persons employed in the occupied territories, however,job stability is lower
for Gaza than for other regions.
41 Much agricultural land on Palestinian hands in Gaza has, in addition, been used
for less labour-intensive orange plantations.
42 Since the Gulf War, new restrictions on workers from the occupied territories
have been implemented but, perhaps more importantly, existing regulations have
been enforced.
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