Next week, the Trades Union Congress, which represents 6.5 million workers in the UK, will vote on a motion to express solidarity with Palestinians living in Gaza.
The motion builds on existing TUC policy to boycott companies which profit from Israel’s illegal occupation, settlements and wall (passed in 2010 and 2011). Successful consumer pressure has already seen most supermarkets in Britain remove settlement produce from their shelves.
Tabled by the Communication Workers Union, and seconded by the PCS, the motion P76 notes the call from 50 international charities and UN Agencies to end Israel’s blockade on Gaza, and violations of international law affecting 1.6 million Palestinians, over half of whom are children. It also instructs the TUC General Council to ‘organise a delegation to Gaza, in conjunction with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, to determine how the TUC may most effectively contribute to the end of the blockade’.
Hugh Lanning, PSC Chair, and Deputy General Secretary of PCS union, said: ‘After visiting Gaza a few months ago, I was inspired by the determination and hope of Palestinians living in Gaza. The message from Gaza to the international community is clear: they want an end to Israel’s brutal siege, and they want to be able to live with dignity and hope in a Free Palestine. 80 per cent of the population are aid-dependent, and sending a trade union delegation to Gaza is an important step in breaking the isolation that has been enforced upon the 1.6 million Palestinians living there.’ more
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