International Labour Day in Gaza: Workers Struggle to Earn a Living Amid the Rubble
Maram Humaid
International Labour Day in Gaza finds the territory in its deepest economic crisis since the war began in October 2023. Unemployment has reached 80%, with over 250,000 workers losing their jobs, and more than 95% of the population relying on aid. Workers like Ibrahim Abu al-Eish and Yousef al-Rifi recount their daily struggles to survive on meager wages amid dangerous conditions.
International Labour Day on May 1 this year arrives as Gaza remains mired in its worst economic crisis since the war erupted in October 2023. Hundreds of thousands of workers have lost their jobs, and the few who are employed barely earn enough to survive day to day.
According to data released by the Gaza Ministry of Labour on the occasion, the unemployment rate in Gaza has soared to 80%, with more than 250,000 workers losing their jobs during the war. The poverty rate exceeds 93%, and over 75% of the population suffers from severe food insecurity. More than 95% of residents now depend on humanitarian aid, including many who previously held stable jobs.
The Labour Ministry warned that prolonged joblessness will deepen economic stagnation, reduce operational capacity, and erode recovery prospects unless Israel lifts the blockade, opens border crossings, and allows industrial sectors to resume operations.
Ibrahim Abu al-Eish, 24, a general laborer for a local construction company, clears rubble from buildings destroyed in the war. He starts work at dawn and finishes late at night, having taken the job in October when a ceasefire began and efforts to clear debris, reopen roads, and remove hazards from ruined structures got underway.
A graduate in accounting, Ibrahim never imagined he would end up in such grueling and dangerous work. “It is exhausting. I never imagined my life would involve such a job,” he told Al Jazeera. He has been injured multiple times, and a colleague was once severely hurt when part of a roof collapsed on him.
Yet Ibrahim endures these harsh challenges because he must support a family of nine, including his parents and siblings, who are living in difficult conditions at the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. “I earn no more than 80 shekels ($27) a day… but compared to the fatigue and exhaustion I face, that is a small amount, not even enough to cover my family’s basic needs in light of soaring prices,” he said.
Yousef al-Rifi, 32, works at a makeshift roadside bakery in central Gaza City. Before the war, he, his father, and his brothers owned a small bakery in the east of the city, but it was completely destroyed along with their family home. After that loss, Yousef spent two years without any income to support his wife and two children until he recently started working at the roadside bakery.
“I work here from 6 a.m. until late at night, for 50 shekels ($17) a day, sometimes even less, under the heat in temporary tents,” he said. The work is unstable; on some days, the bakery does not operate due to fluctuations in the price of flour and bread. His earnings do not cover expenses, forcing him to borrow money or sell essential belongings. “I sold my mobile phone and my wife’s to get money for food and water… what I earn is barely enough for one meal for my children,” he recounted.
Both Ibrahim and Yousef hold little hope of improving their circumstances, but they are compelled to take whatever work they can find because there are no alternatives in Gaza. “A worker must try to make a living. This is our reality… a harsh, unforgiving livelihood soaked in blood,” Yousef said.
