Trade Union Friends of Israel

The Histadrut Message

The “New Histadrut” as Mr Eini called it, is the largest workers’ organisation in the State of Israel. He spoke about the fight for the rights of workers, the improvement of terms and conditions as well as securing job security, as the main priorities.

Mr Eini came with a clear message of the direction that the Histadrut was taking. He wanted everyone to know that the Histadrut had broken its links to the Israeli Labour Party and that its work was industrial focussed rather than party political.

He played a great emphasis in his speeches on the work the Histadrut plays in representing Arab-Israeli workers, who are among the lowest paid in the country. He cited the recent pay strike by local authority workers in the Nazareth District, who are mainly Arab, who were joined in solidarity by the port workers, mainly Jewish, in their struggle.

Eini also spoke about the Histadrut’s commitment to defending and protecting the working conditions of hundreds of thousands of Israeli, Palestinian and migrant workers in Israel. The Histadrut has a policy to encourage the employment of Palestinian workers rather than foreign migrant workers from far-off countries. In his view only by working together, can the two peoples, Israelis and Palestinians, get a common understanding of each other, live in peace together and achieve economic prosperity and social stability.

Eini also talked about the initiation of the resumption of the cooperation between the three components in the Israeli economic “triangle”: workers, private employers and government.

An example that Mr Eini spoke about is the Agreement of the Payment of Wages due to the war in the north that was signed in agreement with the three sides in July 2006. The threat of rocket attacks during the July 2006 conflict prevented many workers in the north of Israel from attending work. None of these workers were entitled to pay due to the compelled absence.

However, the Histadrut intervened and negotiated with the employers and government a new law that would mean that all workers would receive their full pay when they were absent from work under these conditions. The agreement stipulated that remunerations will be paid to the employer from the state only after the latter paid full pay to employees who were obliged to be absent from their work under these circumstances.

Eini also said that the resumption of the “triangle” does not have to exist only in times of emergency; it can be a catalyst for growth for the economy at all times.

He also spoke about the work to strengthen the relations between the Histadrut and the Arab Confederations in general and with PGFTU in particular to promote the peace process in the region. The Histadrut shares the view that the foundation for a resolution to the conflict lies in the willingness of both sides to make concessions.

“The Histadrut”, he said, “will continue to cultivate a relationship with the PGFTU (Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions). We recognise the significance of these relations, the link between the two economies, as well as the rights of all workers, as a stimulus for advancing the peace process”.

The Histadrut makes a clear distinction between the Palestinian government and the trade unions which are affiliated to PGFTU, headed by General Secretary Shaher Sae'd. They recognise the basic right of Israel to exist, want to promote co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians, oppose terror and do seek cooperation with the Histadrut.

Finally he said he believed that there is an international obligation on the Histadrut to promote and strengthen the relationship between the Israeli and Palestinian trade unions, in order to promote the peace process. He said, “We believe that the Palestinian trade unions are an appropriate answer to the Palestinian workers' needs and problems”.

About the Histadrut

Hundreds of thousands of union members’ are organised in the Histadrut, regardless of religion, race or gender from all sectors of the Israeli economy. The Histadrut represents workers in every sector of employment that exists in the Israeli economy such as: food, hotels and tourism, academics, printers, engineers, psychologists, social workers, pensioners, journalists, clerks and more. These trade unions provide a supporting service all over the country to approximately 700,000 members’ of the Histadrut.

Other News in January

A suicide bomber blew himself up in a bakery in the Southern Israeli town of Eilat on Monday 29 January killing three people and injuring at least one other. The 21 year old suicide bomber, who entered Israel from Egypt, is thought to be a member of Islamic Jihad, although the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and a previously unknown group calling itself the “Army of Believers” also claimed responsibility for the attack.

Eilat police believe there may be other bombers in the city ready to strike and the town has been put on high alert. The attack is the first suicide bombing inside Israel since April 2006 and comes four days before the Quartet are due to meet in Washington as part of a renewed effort to revive Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.

Escalating violence in Gaza

Violence between the rival Palestinian groups, Fatah and Hamas, has claimed more than 60 lives since December and saw a significant escalation towards the end of January, despite a cease-fire agreement reached on Friday 26 January.

Violence was sparked by a car bomb in the Jabalya refugee camp on Thursday 25 January which killed a Hamas militant. In the city of Beit Hanoun, Hamas responded by bombing offices belonging to Fatah and kidnapping the head of National Security Forces in the central Gaza Strip. The violence has spread to the West Bank where the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades kidnapped five Hamas members in Nablus on Sunday 28 January.

On Sunday 28th January, Fatah and Hamas officials both accepted a Saudi invitation to hold unity talks in Mecca, in a bid to end the fighting. A date has yet to be set for the talks which Egypt has also offered to participate in.

Abbas and Livni meet in Davos and pledge to continue talks

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for talks at the World Economics Forum in Davos on Friday 26th January. After the meeting both Livni and Abbas stressed the need for continued talks. Ms Livni said that “the next big thing is the trilateral talks”, referring to the planned meetings between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the United States. President Abbas also reiterated his intention to call for early Palestinian Authority elections if no agreement was reached on a national unity government in the next few weeks.

First Muslim Israeli Arab cabinet minister to be appointed

Labour leader Amir Peretz announced on 15 January his intention to appoint Raleb Majadele Labour MK, as the first Muslim Israeli Arab cabinet minister in Israel, to replace Ofer Pines-Paz who resigned in October in response to the inclusion of Yisrael Beiteinu into the coalition. Majadele, who was appointed Minister for Science and Technology, described the appointment as a “historic step”.

Prime Minister Olmert said that the appointment of an Arab minister was “a very significant and positive event… the time has come for such a development.” Majadele’s appointment will be brought before the cabinet for approval next week.

Rice follows Blair to Middle East in effort to revive Road Map

Following Tony Blair’s visit to the region in December, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a week long visit to the Middle East on 12 January.

During her visit, Ms Rice met with Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday 14 January. In a statement made after the meeting, the Palestinian President stressed the need for agreement over a National Unity government and recognised that there were “requirements that must be met” by the PA if progress were to be made.

The Secretary of State met with Ehud Olmert on 15 January after which Israeli PM said that the internationally brokered road map continues to be the basis for the peace process. Following the meeting, it was announced that plans were underway for a trilateral meeting between the Rice, Olmert and Abbas in the near future.

Fatah rally in Ramallah demands Palestinian Unity

On Thursday 11 January, thousands of Fatah supporters attended a rally in Ramallah to mark Fatah’s 42nd anniversary founded by late leader Yasser Arafat. During the event, President Abbas addressed the crowd and called for an end to factional fighting that has resulted in over 30 deaths this past month alone.

Following the killing in December of three children of a Fatah loyalist, revenge attacks between rival groups have increased and violence further intensified after Abbas announced his intention to call early elections. Unity talks between Fatah and Hamas have so far failed, but both Hamas Prime Minister Haniyeh and President Abbas have repeatedly called for an end to the violence and a return to talks.

Some progress was made this weekend when union officials announced that 80,000 Palestinian government employees were expected to return to work after a deal was reached on 13 January to end the three month strike over unpaid wages. Hamas Deputy Prime Minister Nasseredine al-Shaer, announced that the deal to end the strike was the “first of a number of accords on matters linked to the formation of a government of national unity that should be announced in the near future.”