The title of this round table asks which kind of involvement Trade Unions have for a just and lasting peace in Palestine.
We can approach the issue instrumentally separating two levels : the social and the political one.
All of us know that the israeli palestinian question is absolutely a political question, therefore Trade Union involvement must be A POLITICAL ONE ,avoiding the false equidistance between the two or the so called balanced position wich is in reality a position far awy only from the thruth, and do not help anybody to overcome difficulties to find out a common discussion’s approach.
We have to STRONGLY condemn the occupation as one of the longest colonisation process in the contemporary era that means the continue violation of all rights : human, political, and International.
It is our duty to denounce Israeli rights violations at all levels, at Trade Union Conventions, and Congresses, at ETUConfederation or ILO Internat Labor Organisation meetings in which Histadrut participate.
NOT ONLY DENOUNCE of course because we support the struggle for a peaceful just solution of the conflict, based on the respect of all the International Resolutions concerning borders, Jerusalem, and the refugees problem. Till now the “Two States Solution” is the basic approach internationally Recognised IVEN IF we all know that the so called “fact on the ground” imposed by Israel like settlements dayly enlargement, the wall redeployement, Est Jerusalem daily colonisation, etc. etc. are dramatically reducing a real perspective of the Two State solution.
More over THE SIEGE OF GAZA must be removed immediately first of all to respect human life, secondly to remove a constant Israeli idea of militay aggression, and finally beause palestinian territorial unity, together with social and political reconciliation are the fundamental conditions for any positive development .
Beside all of that, we think that Trade Union proper field of involvement has to be the palestinian population soffering for the dramatic econimic effects of the occupation, together with labor and workers’ rights violations as crucial items.
EUROPEAN POLITICAL ARENA must be the target.
In fact we have to reinforce and to better coordinate the European Campaign we started exactly eleven years ago against the EU-Israel Trade agreement for better coditions. This agreement must be stopped until Israel do not respect International, and Human rights concerning human harrassements and repression, killings and illegal imprisonements ; International right concerning land as settlements, confiscations, Et Jerusalem, the apartheid wall, etc, etc.
Without any possibility for palestinians to develop a real independent economy we could never speak of a just and lasting peace.
Palestinian products must be freely imported in Europe without any Israeli blokade, and Israel at the contrary can not freely export settlements’ products as they daily do.
We must be stronger and stronger to call EU Institutions to fullfill their duty.
In this context we can not forget arm and military trade, high technology research linked with arm development, and the so called security systems improvement,….
If Europe and EU policy is a strategyc arena, PALESTINE AND ISRAEL, are the same.
Cgil solidarity with the palestinian cause and friendly relationships and cooperation with our Trade Union partner there, have a long history since the far past, such as the frank dialoge with Histadrut.
As many of us, we also tried especially during Oslo agreement period, to be therd part between the two, PGFTU and Histadrut, organising several common meetings on specific Trade Union topics such as Labor Law, workers participation, strike right , etc but as the peace process collapsed, and the second intifada started, all the spaces for dialoge were closed.
Anyhow I have to say that , always, Histadrut strictly followed the Israeli official governamental policy concerning the conflict and the occupation ; they never demonstrate an alternative option. In fact Histadrut General Secretary Amir Perez became Ministry of Interior some years ago.
Nowdays because the laking of any negotiating perspective, and because the dramatic effects of the general situation on the palestinian population leaving conditions, and because the increase of social radical conflicts inside which is weakening social cohesion, we decided to concentrate our commiment to reinforce Pal Trade Union role as hinstrument for social participation and unity.
In the last years new trade unions organisations developed alongside or splitted from the Pgftu, but in the same time the fundamental Labor rights don’t have an adeguate protection, a permanent
institutional crisis do not allow to achieve real social reforms, and internal conflicts are radicalising day by day.
Therefore we decided to verify through several discussions and meetings, in Italy and in Palestine, the interests of the Pal Trade Unions to reinforce their capability to cooperate among them, to have a Joint activities involving directly woman and youth, coming from different experiences and organisations.
The process would bring palestinian trade unions to compare analisys and proposals on the main topics of the palestinians workers rights agenda such as : Decent Work, Social Reforms, Collective Bargaining, Labor market, Social Dialogue and tolerance approach, with the aim of promoting better understanding, and cooperation on the basis of a mutual respect, to organise a new generation of unionists.
The concrete program schedule contains the following thre steps :
– Cgil visit in Palestine and meetings with different Trade Unions
– -joint seminar at the ILO International training Center in Turin (Italy)
– Final labor conference in Ramallah
Where the seminar results will be discussed as a concrete trade unions unite road map of activities.
Stronger palestinian Unions, and stronger social unity, we hope, could promote better possibilities for a new palestinian strategy toward a new era of rational, and fruitfull negotiations.