On 3 February, after being denied entry into the West Bank, a delegation of the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), including affiliates from South Africa (NUM), Belgium (FGTB-ABVV), France (CGT) and Spain (CCOO Habitat), held a series of meetings in Amman with representatives of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), who travelled from Palestine to participate. The meetings were hosted by the Arab Trade Union Confederation (ATUC) and also included the General Secretaries of the Jordanian General Federation of Trade Unions and of the Jordanian Construction Workers’ Union. Meetings originally scheduled to take place in Ramallah with the Palestinian Minister of Labour and representatives of the ILO Jerusalem office were conducted virtually. 

Discussions focused on the collapse of labour and livelihoods in Gaza and the West Bank, the situation of construction and other workers since 7 October, and the ongoing disconnect between high-level discussions on Gaza’s future and the lived reality of Palestinian workers. Participants stressed that no reconstruction is currently taking place, and that workers are being spoken about as future labour without their voices, rights, or immediate survival needs being addressed.

Labour and livelihoods in Gaza and the West Bank are facing an unprecedented collapse, driven by mass unemployment, widespread destruction, and severe restrictions on movement and materials. Since 7 October, more than 200,000 Palestinian workers have lost access to work permits, while unemployment has reached approximately 85% in Gaza and nearly 30% in the West Bank.

In the West Bank, more than a thousand permanent and ad-hoc checkpoints, roadblocks, and gates severely restrict movement, making it virtually impossible for many workers to reach workplaces even when jobs are available. Workers attempting to access employment face arrest, injury, or death, while undocumented and informal labour has expanded under increasingly precarious conditions. In Gaza, the destruction of infrastructure, housing, hospitals, schools, and vocational training centres has stripped people of work, learning, and any sense of normal life, deeply undermining human dignity, while purchasing power has been almost entirely eroded.

Institutional responses remain severely constrained despite continued engagement by international actors. Palestinian ministries, trade unions, and employers’ organisations continue to operate under extreme pressure, with border closures preventing the entry of cement, machinery, and basic construction materials. While the ILO, UNDP, UNEP, and other UN agencies are undertaking rapid needs assessments, coordinating shelter responses, and supporting emergency employment initiatives, the absence of freedom of movement, access, governance clarity, and institutional space fundamentally limits the scale and sustainability of any intervention. Short-term emergency employment programmes have provided temporary relief, but economic recovery remains structurally blocked.

Vocational training, upskilling and reskilling pathways, and a clear commitment to jobs for Palestinians emerged as key priorities during the meetings, particularly for youth and displaced workers. With youth unemployment exceeding 40% in the West Bank and almost 100% in Gaza, and more than 80% of new graduates unable to find work, trade unions and civil society organisations highlighted the urgent need to rehabilitate vocational training centres, map existing skills, and protect workers’ capacity to sustain livelihoods. Proposals discussed included labour-intensive rubble removal under safe conditions, contractor training in decent work and occupational safety and health, and the systematic inclusion of labour protections in any future investment. Participants stressed that any discussion on rebuilding must be grounded in Palestinian ownership, workers’ rights, land rights, and the right of communities to remain, rather than abstract plans detached from current realities.