Ramallah – On May 15, MIFTAH and the Ministry of Labor signed on a cooperation and understanding agreement, meant to mainstream the principles of transparency and integrity and to promote an openness with the public in the preparation of general budgets. It was also aimed at promoting the principle of monitoring over government spending policies, on the premise that this approach has mutual value for both parties, with the goal of creating true partnership and social integration including the participation and monitoring by citizens over public affairs, including fiscal policies. In addition, it promotes principles of good governance including integrity, transparency and social accountability.

The agreement was signed by MIFTAH Executive Director, Dr. Tahreer Araj and Assistant Undersecretary for Labor Sector Affairs, Ali Sawi, on behalf of the Minister of Labor.

Araj stressed on integrality in working with the public sector in order to shed light on the gaps in general budgets from a gender and social justice perspective. The objective of this, she maintained, was to develop fiscal policies in the various budgets through focusing on government expenditures for the Labor Ministry and bias towards marginalized sectors.

Araj said she hoped the two parties would continue working together and further consider the Labor Law from a gender and social justice perspective to render it more equitable for laborers and labor in Palestine.

Meanwhile, Sawi stated that this agreement was part of the Ministry of Labor’s interest in promoting the principles of partnership and cooperation with Palestinian civil society institutions, to ultimately create partnerships between the two parties that would guarantee the people’s participation in and monitoring of public affairs, including fiscal policies. This is in addition to promoting the principles of good governance represented in integrity, transparency and social accountability, he said, stressing on the importance of training budget teams at the Ministry of Labor and promoting a participatory approach in the work environment.

Throughout the meeting, the participants discussed the importance of participating in the development of public policies, especially given that the Ministry of Labor plays a key role in monitoring and implementing operational policies. They also stressed on the importance of determining priorities in a bid to accelerate the response to citizens’ needs. Furthermore, the meeting shed light on the challenges the Labor Ministry faces in terms of allocating budgets to the multiple programs it oversees.