As part of ongoing efforts to institute a sustainable and comprehensive social security system in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), the ILO will bring together representatives from Palestinian employer organisations to deepen employers’ understanding and consolidate their positions on the oPt draft social security law and associated labour code amendments. A total of 40 senior participants from various Palestinian chambers of commerce will attend the workshop, which will serve to build on the results of a previous meeting of Palestinian employers’ organisations hosted by the ILO in September 2015.  

The principal aims of the workshop are to:

• Identify crosscutting issues between the draft social security law and labour code in the oPt and harmonise the positions of employers’ organizations;
• share practical experiences from Jordan in order to consider the practical functionality and challenges of social security legislation as well as the role of end-of-service indemnity;
• assess and evaluate the need for actuarial studies to ensure sound management of a Palestine National Social Security Fund;
• offer proposals which reflect the needs and attitudes of the private sector in the West Bank and Gaza Strip under the principle of a One Palestine Approach; and
• introduce the concept of a national social protection floor to promote national strategies that provide basic services and income security for all.

The workshop is a joint initiative between ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities (ACTEMP), the ILO Jerusalem office, the Jordan Chamber of Industry, and the Social Security Corporation of Jordan.