Palestine Solidarity Trade Union Conference: 18th April 2009: Report

Around 60 trade unionists gathered in Liverpool from across the North of England to listen to speakers from Palestine, Ireland and South Africa, and discuss the response of trade unionists in Britain to the ongoing struggle of the Palestinian workers and farmers against Israeli occupation and oppression.

Delegates were reminded of the all too frequent reality and ever present danger of the situation with an announcement at the beginning that only the night before a man had been shot dead by the Israeli Defence Force, at one of the weekly Friday protests against the apartheid wall in Bil’in.

Palestine

Conference started with an introduction from Manawel Abdel-Al of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU). Manawel gave an account of the daily conditions of Palestinian workers and the terrain in which unions are forced to operate. Three sets of labour laws compete in East Jerusalem; the pre 1967 Jordanian; the post 1967 forced Israeli; and the Palestinian National Authority post 1994. Unemployment runs at 33% in the West Bank and 50% in Gaza, where 70-80% of the population are living under the poverty line. Those in work can earn as little as $5 a day.

Restrictions on movement mean that Health workers in hospitals in East Jerusalem are unable to visit their families behind the apartheid wall, as they would be unable to return to work, so they have to stay where they work.. Students are prevented from attending University. UNOCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) cited over 600 obstacles from checkpoints, to trenches, walls, iron gates and sudden/flying search points. All of which severely restrict movement and close off entrances and exits to Palestinian towns and villages.

Racist laws prevent Palestinian access to employment. Those working in Israel have to swear loyalty to the state of Israel. The train authorities will not employ anyone as a railroad crossing guard, who has not served in the Israeli army.

Manawel urged all trade unionists in Britain and the rest of the world to support the boycott of all Israeli products. He described how news of the South African Dockers refusal to unload an Israeli ship which was forced to return to Haifa, had lifted the spirits of Palestinian trade unionists during the recent war on Gaza. He also spoke of the role Veolia are playing in building a tram system in East Jerusalem. This bypasses Palestinian areas and is designed to connect up Jewish settlements around Jerusalem to the city and to West Jerusalem. It does not serve the Arab community and is in fact destroying its economy.

There was some discussion about relations with Histadrut (Israeli TUC). Several conference delegates described Histadrut as an arm of the Israeli state which supported the war on Gaza and whose former head Peres, had lead the war on Lebanon, and that trade unionists should have nothing to do with it. Manawel was clear that the PGFTU only had an agreement with Histadrut to retrieve the money illegally taken from Palestinian workers, and had no hesitation in advocating disassociation from Histadrut.

Further discussion took place on the extreme difficulties of representing workers in Gaza and working with Hamas’s Islamic trade union. Manawel said it was not always possible to represent workers in East Jerusalem, but in Gaza their offices were taken over by Hamas and subsequently destroyed by the Israelis. They are now in the process of trying to set up new premises.

We also heard and saw an eyewitness account from Sameh Habeeb a photojournalist on 3 years of siege and the last war in Gaza. He combined graphic photographs of the destruction of both people and infrastructure in Gaza, with a description of the collapse of the Gazan economy. Construction is forbidden, nothing has been built for 3 years. Sewage now contaminates the water as pipes are broken and not repaired. 4,000 factories have closed as exports are banned. The power plant was bombed in 2006 leading to widespread shortages and a reliance on power from Israel and Egypt. Israel will only allow a certain number of trucks into Gaza, forcing the authorities to make an impossible choice of having oil or flour but not both. Israel controls the ports and the airport. The only other way to get goods into Gaza is through tunnels. Over 200 people, many of them university graduates, have died in the tunnels as the Israelis target them.

Sameh described the recent war as psychological warfare and genocide. Israel targeted schools, hospitals and ambulances. Snipers also killed cattle and chickens. 

Ireland

Brian Campfield (Deputy General Secretary of Northern Ireland Public Sector Union) and Eamon McMahon (Trade Union Friends of Palestine – Irish Congress of Trade Unions) then lead a discussion on the progress of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign throughout Ireland. Resolutions starting in Belfast and Derry Trades Councils calling for a boycott have lead to ICTU overwhelmingly adopting a position of support for BDS in 2007. There has been opposition from Zionist influences within the unions particularly fundamental Christians, also some inertia on the part of the Executive, but generally the campaign has been “pushing at an open door” since 2005 when ICTU agreed to campaign in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Sligo and Galway Councils have now agreed to have no new contracts with Veolia.

A measure of how concerned Israel is about BDS is that following ICTU’s support for it in 2007 they were attacked by Histadrut and the Israeli ambassador to the UK immediately set up meetings with them in Belfast and Dublin.

South Africa

We were next treated to a telephone interview with Bongani Masuku (International Secretary COSATU). Bongani said there was no more dramatic an example of apartheid anywhere in the world today than in Palestine, and in COSATU they should know. He compared Israel’s role to that played by Colombia in South America and connected them both to the strategic needs of US imperialism. He said there could be no peace until Israel is compelled to obey international law, and stressed the importance of eyewitness accounts from Palestine.

Bongani said that COSATU was committed to BDS and would develop the campaign through mass marches as well as actions such as the Dockers took, and working closely with PSC in South Africa. They were also organising a Conference for International Solidarity in June 2009. Not just for Palestine but also Burma and Zimbabwe.

He said we should not be bullied or intimidated by the Zionist actions for instance when the US and Israel pulled out of the Durban 2 review conference over the Palestinian issue. Neither should we accept the double standards of some trade unions that try to treat the colonised and the coloniser as equals. 

Union caucuses from Unite, Unison, and UCU met over an excellent if somewhat delayed lunch. 

Workshops

Conference broke into 2 workshops after lunch. One on trade union delegations and links with Palestine, the other on BDS in Britain.

I attended the BDS session, which mainly concentrated on comparisons (unfavourable) with the situation within the Irish trade unions, where they have national confederation backing and resources. They have also produced a document with a strategic and an operational element on how policy should be translated into action. However discussion lead to proposals to improve communications and coordination between PSC and FOP branches across the North of England at least. An attempt to form a liaison committee between the trade unions and the campaign groups, which could be presented to Trades Councils, was also suggested and initiated.

Further discussion covered Veolia’s contract in Liverpool to construct waste management systems. The argument against cancelling this contract is currently that it is not the same company as Veolia transport who are constructing the tram system in East Jerusalem. All Veolia’s accounts say that it is, and therefore could be cancelled as the tram system is consolidating further settlements in breach of UN articles.

Joint action continues at Liverpool University between student groups and UCU over boycott actions aimed at arms sales and pension fund investments in BAe.

Final Plenary

The final session concentrated on where now? or what is to be done? for the movement as a whole. Hugh Lanning (Deputy General Secretary PCS and PSC) introduced. He said the task was now to link the solidarity campaigns with the trade unions. We need to create a mass campaign on the scale of the anti-apartheid movement of the 1980’s. Trade unionists need to turn their union policies into action. Many trade unions have very good national policies on Palestine and following the upcoming round of national conferences many will have even better policies, as the wind is in the right direction at the moment. However they must become more visible within the movement both in terms of promotion and action. Key to this is BDS. The 16th May demonstration should be a part of this process.

Trade unions should also be lobbying for a change in government policy via groups like Labour Friends of Palestine, which has about 70 MP’s. They should press for the suspension of the EU trade agreement with Israel in the run up to the EU elections.

Discussion from the floor once again brought up the issue of Histadrut. Hugh did not think this should be a priority for the campaign as it meant little or nothing to the majority of members. There was a need for education of members as to the realities of daily life for Palestinians.

Kevin Brown (FBU) summed up by saying we cannot become the “3 day resolutionaries” who pass excellent motions at national conferences then do nothing for the rest of the year. We have to turn union policy into action. Challenge our own union policies; affiliate to Trade Union Friends of Palestine; invite guest speakers from PGFTU for example; dedicate socials to Palestine campaigns.

In Conclusion

My overwhelming impression of the conference was its thoroughgoing internationalism. “We are all Gazans” was a sentiment that could be felt throughout the day. In that sense it was a great success. It did however reveal how much further we still have to go in Britain in terms of significant trade union action. The majority of delegates were over 40, white and male, which is a sad reflection on the general state of union organisation and participation in the UK as a whole.

This was a step forward however and the organisers should be congratulated for their commitment to the internationalist cause and to presenting an informative day of lively debate and discussion on such an important issue. I look forward to the next, bigger and more diverse conference linked to a more active trade union movement in the near future.

Sun 19, April 2009 @ 16:15