Dependency on Israeli Employers Increases Risk of Exploitation Palestinian workers who successfully obtain a work permit find that their permits are referred to by Israel as “permits for employment registered to an employer”, and that the ID tag of the employer is printed on the permits. This means that the workers are only allowed to work for that specific employer.166 This dependency makes it very difficult for Palestinian workers to complain about their wages or their working conditions, since their employers can easily have their work permits revoked and hire new workers. Based on this system, employers mainly employ workers on a daily wage basis and only a small share of the Palestinian workers are employed through a proper contract, and thus eligible for pension allowances, sick days, vacation days or other basic entitlements.167 It is well-documented that this situation has led to the rights of Palestinian workers not being protected. In 2011, a study showed that 42 percent of Palestinian workers in illegal Israeli colonies are exposed to human rights violations and that 71 percent of the workers do not receive salary slips. This means that they have no evidence of their work and therefore face extreme difficulties should they try to fight for their rights in Israeli courts.168 Working in Israel and Israeli Colonies without Permits The difficulties in obtaining a work permit combined with the dire economic situation in the occupied Palestinian territory force an estimated 33,000 Palestinians to work in Israel without permits.169 According to statistics from the Bank of Israel, the daily wage of workers without permits was approximately NIS 158 ($ 40.7) in 2013, which is significantly lower than the 166 KavLa Oved, “Employment of Palestinians in Israel and the Settlements Restrictive Policies and Abuse of Rights”, August 2012, page 12. Available at: palestinakomiteen.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/ employment-of-palestinians-in-Israel.pdf 167 Bank of Israel, “Excerpt from the “Bank of Israel – Annual Report for 2014” to be published soon – Expansion of Palestinian employment in Israel and its characteristics”, 3 March 2015. at: http://www. bankisrael.gov.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/030315-PalestinianEmployment. aspx 168 Dr. Majid Sbeih, “Executive Summary of a study on “Palestinian wage workers in Israeli settlements in the West bank – Characteristics and Work Circumstances””, Al-Quds Open University, 2011, page 5. at: http:// www.dwrc.org/files/Palestinian%20wage%20workers%20in%20Israeli%20settlements%20in%20 the%20West%20Bank%20%E2%80%93%20Characteristics%20and%20Work%20Circumstances%20(executive%20summary).pdf 169 Bank of Israel, “Excerpt from the “Bank of Israel – Annual Report for 2014” to be published soon – Expansion of Palestinian employment in Israel and its characteristics”, 3 March 2015. at:http://www. bankisrael.gov.il/en/NewsAndPublications/PressReleases/Pages/030315-PalestinianEmployment. aspx 47