Trade unions support workplace actions for Palestine this Thursday 14 May

In response to the call from Palestinian trade unions to escalate pressure to end complicity in Israel’s genocide and apartheid, three major trade union federations representing over 80 trade union affiliates across the islands of Ireland and Britain have announced support for workplace actions this Thursday 14 May, coinciding with the 78th anniversary of Nakba.

The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) National Committee, the largest coalition in Palestinian civil society including almost all trade unions, salutes the three trade union federations – all affiliated to the International Trade Union Confederation.

In Ireland and Scotland— the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Scottish Congress of Trade unions are supporting the upcoming workplace day of action in solidarity with Palestine on Thursday 14 May.

The UK Trades Union Congress is also supporting the upcoming workplace day of action in solidarity with Palestine on Thursday 14 May.

Many trade unions are longstanding supporters of Palestine

Major British trade unions affiliate to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and have been supporting the workplace days of action since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza, to build solidarity with the people of Palestine and to challenge UK complicity with Israel.

Under the banner of “Workplace Day of Action for Palestine,” all three federations have worked with Palestine solidarity organisations to answer the call of support for workplace solidarity action.

The BDS movement calls on all trade unions, student organisations and wider civil society organisations, across Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, to take action this Thursday 14 May.

National demonstrations marking 78 years since the Nakba are organised by solidarity networks for Dublin and London with local demonstrations organised for Belfast and Edinburgh this Saturday 16 May.

Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the BDS movement said:

Of all people, workers understand well what solidarity means. The Palestinian labour movement has called for meaningful solidarity with our struggle to end Israel’s genocide and dismantle its underlying, decades-old regime of settler-colonial apartheid. Ending all complicity in Israel’s crimes is a profound moral obligation and a necessary first step of solidarity.

14 May will be a powerful statement of solidarity in this respect. When workers from across Ireland and Britain take real action to end the complicity of their respective states, corporations and institutions, they recall the best traditions of international workers’ solidarity. They also contribute considerably to building the critical mass of people power we need to affect real policy change.

Amongst the calls issued by Palestinian trade unions on May Day was the call to organise, join and amplify peaceful actions to mark the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, on or around 15 May.

The workplace day of action coincides with the 78th anniversary of the Nakba: the planned ethnic cleansing and expulsion of most of the Indigenous people of Palestine and the destruction of hundreds of our towns and villages to create Israel as a settler colony premised on supremacy and apartheid.

The BDS movement calls on all trade unions, student organisations and wider civil society organisations, across Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, to take action on Thursday 14 May.

Peter Leary, deputy director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said:

This workplace day of action comes as we prepare to march to commemorate the Nakba, the catastrophe inflicted on the Palestinian people by Israel since 1948.

Workers and trade unionists have a vital role to play in building solidarity with Palestine. Israel can only carry out its crimes, including genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid, because of the assistance it receives from governments, companies and institutions in countries like the UK.

By organising in support of the Palestinian-led call for boycott, divestment and sanctions, workers can help to end this complicity in grave violations of international law.

We urge everyone to take action this Thursday and join us at 12noon on Exhibition Road in London on Saturday when we march in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their ongoing struggle for freedom and justice.

Featured image via the Canary