Support striking Palestinian quarry workers demanding their rights from Israeli employer

On 16 June, 35 Palestinian workers at Salit Quarries in Mishor Adumim (in area C, east of Jerusalem, in the Occupied West Bank) began a strike. The workers, organized with the independent union WAC-Ma'an, are demanding an end to exploitation and humiliation, and insist on signing a first collective agreement. Salit Quarries’ main customer is Readymix Industries (Israel).

The total reliance of Salit Quarry on Readymix as their biggest and by far the most important customer puts responsibility on Readymix to make sure that their clients abides by labour laws and safeguards elementary rights for the workers of Salit. We call upon Readymix to urge the Salit management to terminate this unnecessary strike by signing the collective agreement with the workers and WAC-Ma’an.

Click this protest link to send your message. The text of the message is as follows:

I write to you to express my grave concern about the failure of Salit management to sign a collective agreement with the workers of Salit Quarry and WAC Ma'an, the union that represents them. I have been informed that workers at Salit began organizing in 2007 due to intolerable working conditions. I understand that the company recognized WAC-Ma’an and began negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement and that on April 10, 2011 a tentative agreement was finally reached. However the management of Salit Quarry retreated and postponed the date which had been set for the signing several times, attempting to create divisions among the workers. Faced with no apparent alternative, the workers and the union announced a legal strike until the agreement was signed. We call upon you to make sure that the management of Salit takes a responsible position and signs the agreement so as to allow the workers to go back to work in a work place that respects their rights and health and safety in accordance to the commitment of Readymix Industries (Israel) to high standards of safety, social rights and fair treatment of its employees.

Click this protest link to send your message.