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Back to index of Nerve 15 - Winter 2009
Gaza Boycott
By Greg Dropkin
Palestinian firefighters from the West Bank city of Nablus turned up with the Fire Brigades Union Regional Sec. Kevin Brown at the Breakfast for Palestine in Liverpool on 15 November. They came to Scotland and the Northwest for a month’s training hosted by the FBU, and will train their colleagues at home.
The Nablus team are routinely stopped at checkpoints by Israeli soldiers, detained, searched... while heading off to fight fires. They have been shot at and their appliances damaged while on duty. During the harvest season, Israeli settlers coordinated to light synchronised fires in the olive groves.
The FBU sent several delegations to the West Bank, and found overwhelming support for a strategy of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) aimed at Israel and the companies like Caterpillar, which sustain the Occupation. After discussion at branch level, the union adopted the BDS strategy nationally and led efforts to commit the TUC to this policy when it met in Liverpool in September.
During the invasion of Gaza, the Israeli trade union federation Histadrut had endorsed their government’s war. The FBU called on the TUC to condemn that statement and to review its relationship with the Histadrut. It asked the General Council to promote a targeted consumer-led boycott, encourage trade unionists to boycott Israeli goods, especially agricultural products that have been produced in the illegal settlements, and to encourage campaigns of disinvestment from companies associated with the occupation.
The GMB put a wrecking amendment, to neuter the proposals. They wished to “regret” the Histadrut statement, skip any review of the TUC relationship, and encourage Palestinian trade unionists to strengthen relations with the Histadrut. The GMB deleted a call for Britain to ban the arms trade with Israel. They removed all reference to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, instead calling for the TUC to pressure companies to withdraw from building the separation wall.
The GMB gambit flopped, and the TUC leadership tried another tack. They would issue a General Council statement, to take precedence over the FBU motion. When PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka intervened in support of the FBU, the General Council narrowly voted not to put out its own statement.
Two days later, with rumours of the Israeli Ambassador phoning Brown’s office, the General Council decided to issue a statement after all. Congress delegates voted overwhelmingly for the FBU motion, but the statement “takes precedence”, according to the TUC.
Even the weaker statement indicates a sea change.
The growing international movement for BDS has support from at least six major unions in Britain and the Scottish TUC. Will union members implement their own policies, and make BDS a reality?
FBU motion: www.congressvoices.org/2009/76-palestine/
TUC General Council statement: www.tuc.org.uk/congress/tuc-16991-f0.cfm
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