RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The head of the public sector employees union said Sunday that members would hold a half-day strike on Monday after a dispute over salaries and benefits was held up in the finance ministry.

Public sector employees are locked in a running dispute over the application of rewards to workers and retirees.

On Monday all employees will leave work at noon, union chief Bassam Zakarneh said.

He said PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad had given instructions to meet their demands, but the finance ministry had yet to implement them. He noted that the deal had been reached before last Wednesday's cabinet reshuffle, when Fayyad lost his finance minister post, so this should not affect application of its terms.

Zakarneh reaffirmed the right of all employees to take part in strike action, in accordance with the law.

Earlier in May, the union said it would hold a partial strike after the government failed to meet its demands.

Union secretary-general Mohammad al-Araj said the dispute has been rumbling on for over a year and a half.