Date/Time
Date(s) - 6 Dec 2014
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturday 6th December 2014
10am – 4.30pm
Pavilion Parade Building, University of Brighton
BN2 1RA (near the Royal Pavilion)
Join us for this opportunity to learn and to contribute to trade union activity on Palestine
We invite local trade unionists to join us to:
- Hear eye-witness reports of the situation ‘on the ground’ for Palestinians in the West Bank
- Hear directly from a Trade Union activist in Palestine who organises workers who work for Palestinian employers and in the illegal Israeli settlements
- Hear from a recent Trade Union delegation to Palestine
- Discuss twinning with Trade Unions in Palestine
- Develop the Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
- Plan a B&H Trade Union delegation to Palestine
Refreshments available (including a Palestinian lunch for £4.50)
Attendance is free of charge. To enable us to plan catering, please let us know if you are planning to attend by contacting mikenewtown@hotmail.com.
Facilities courtesy of University of Brighton branch of UCU.
Programme for the day
10.00 REGISTRATION
10.15-11.15
- Chair’s introduction
- Trade Union Support for Palestine, Stephen Bell PSC National Executive
- Boycott Divestment & Sanctions, Tom Hickey, Brighton UCU
11.30 – 12.30 EYE WITNESS REPORTS FROM PALESTINE
Including reports from:
- BHPSC members
- Seema McCardle Brighton NUT
- Christine Jackson-Hayward, Kentwide Health UNITE
12.30-1.30 Lunch
Palestine meal (Veg & Meat) available for £4.50
Timed to coincide with local BDS action – partication encouraged!
1.30 -2.30
Skype Link with Trade Union Organiser in the Jordan Valley
2.30 -3.30
Workshops: Opportunity to discuss issues raised during day
3.30-4.30
Final Session – Report back from workshops and assessment of day
What has Palestine got to do with Trade Unionists?
A message from Palestinian Trade Unions: July 2014
“Given the complete failure and unwillingness of governments to hold Israel accountable to international law there is widespread recognition that Israel’s occupation must be isolated by the pressure of civil society.
“We rely on our brothers and sisters in the trade union movement internationally to continue a proud tradition of international solidarity and to stand with us as you stood with the struggle against apartheid in South Africa.”
Many of the corporations that profit from contracts in local councils, schools, universities and hospitals, are also profiting from Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine: G4S and Veolia being prime examples.
Whilst we experience severe cuts, and services are being outsourced, deregulated and privatised (cutting standards and jobs while reducing terms and conditions) money is being bled out of our public services by these corporations.
Whilst our pension rights are being cut, our pension funds are investing in companies which manufacture arms and are complicit in human rights abuses around the world.
The Trade Union Day on 6th December will provide a forum for us to discuss how we can work together on these issues.
As Trade Unionists we oppose privatisation, challenge the divisiveness of racism, and recognise the impact that effective international solidarity can have.
There have been big shifts in Trade Union policies on Palestine in recent years, and we think that now is the time to think about how we can put those policies into action on a local level.