Palestine Monetary Authority

Circular No. (58/2013) To all banks operating in Palestine Date: Thursday, April 18, 2013 Subject: Bank Accounts of Trade Unions and Federations Attached for your information is a letter from His Excellency the Minister of Labor dated 2013/03/13 regarding the mechanism for handling bank accounts of trade unions and federations. Please take the necessary measures to implement the requirements of the aforementioned letter. Supervision and Inspection Department Palestine Monetary Authority Copy: Respected Ministry of Labor

Ramallah - Al Bireh P.O. Box 452 - Tel.: 02-2409920 - Fax: 02-2409922 Gaza - P.O. Box 4026 - Tel.: 08-2825713 - Fax: 08-2844487 E-mail: info@pma.ps www.pma.ps

State of Palestine

Ministry of Labor Minister's Office Date: March 13, 2013 To His Excellency Mr. Jihad Al-Wazir, President of the Palestine Monetary Authority Greetings and regards, Subject: Bank Accounts of Trade Unions and Federations The Ministry of Labor extends its warmest greetings. In accordance with its legal responsibilities to safeguard and protect trade union freedoms through its oversight of the formation of trade unions and federations, and in compliance with the Palestinian Labor Law, particularly Articles 3 and 5 which designate the Ministry as the competent authority for overseeing various union organizations, we kindly request Your Excellency to issue appropriate directives to all banks operating in the State of Palestine to strictly adhere to the following:

• Do not open any bank account for trade unions or federations without an official letter from the Palestinian Ministry of Labor specifying the authorized signatories for checks and banking transactions related to these accounts, along with the validity period of these signatures as stipulated in their approved internal regulations.
• Regarding existing and currently active accounts, we kindly request Your Excellency to issue instructions to renew the authorized signatories' signatures at various banks for all trade unions and federations that have not obtained an official letter from the Palestinian Ministry of Labor to approve these signatories after March 13, 2009. These accounts should be converted to deposit-only status until they receive official letters from the Ministry permitting the reactivation of these accounts after settling and regularizing their internal affairs. We thank you for your diligence and cooperation. Copy to: Office of the Prime Minister / Commission for Popular Organizations / Office of Financial and Administrative Audit / Anti-Corruption Commission Copy: State of Palestine Ministry of Labor Minister's Office Issued: 13-03-2013 Internal/External No.: 159 Ramallah Al Ersal 5 Tel: 00970 2 240582-5 Fax: 00970 2 2409580