TUFI’s monthly update looks at important trade union issues in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the Middle East Peace Process, regional developments, domestic Israeli and Palestinian affairs and primary issues affecting British trade union policy on Israel

TUFI delegation blog

TUFI is currently leading a delegation of senior trade unionists around Israel and Palestine. The trip, from Sunday 27th March to Friday 1st April, includes a full itinerary of briefings with sister unions, factory visits, a tour of the West Bank security barrier, and meetings with the Histadrut, the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), government officials, ministers and diplomats.

Following the success of last year, TUFI is hosting a daily blog. Click here to read posts from delegates and TUFI officials.

ITF launch new border crossing project for Palestinian drivers

The International Transport Federation (ITF) has launched a new initiative aimed to improve the lives of Palestinian drivers.

The innovative project will help Palestinian truck, taxi and bus drivers held up at the Irtah crossing between Israel and Palestine. The drivers will also now have access to refreshments, toilet facilities, shade and space for trade union meetings.

The opening ceremony, held on 24 March, was attended by the general secretary of the ITF, David Cockroft, officials from the Palestinian Authority, the general secretary of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), Shaher Sa’ad, and the general secretary of the Palestinian General Union of Transport Workers, Nasser Younis.

The ITF has been working with both Palestinian and Israeli trade unions over a number of years looking for new opportunities for co-operation between workers on both sides. Click here to find out more.

The Histadrut negotiates 20% rise for public sector workers

The Israeli government agreed at the beginning of March to increase the minimum wage for all public-sector workers. The minimum wage is currently £700 a month and the Histadrut has struck a new agreement to increase it in two phases - £50 a month in July 2011 and then another £35 a month in October 2012.

It has also been agreed by the government that public-sector workers will get a 7.25% raise, not the 6.25% that had been agreed back in November 2010.

These two agreements will increase salaries for the lowest-paid workers by about 20%, providing them with seven pay raises in the space of just two years.

US says that regional unrest has opened an opportunity for peace

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates met with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 24 March during a trip to the Middle East.

He called on Israel to see the unrest sweeping the region as an opportunity for progress towards a peace agreement. The Palestinian Authority has refused Israel’s invitation to return to negotiations since the expiry of a ten-month moratorium on settlement construction in September 2010. Responding to the Palestinians’ refusal to enter talks, sources in the office of the Israeli prime minister said on 1 March that Netanyahu is considering proposing an interim peace deal in May, which would establish a Palestinian state within temporary borders, with final borders agreed through further negotiations.

Representatives from the UK, France and Germany will reportedly use the meeting of the Quartet (EU, UN, US and Russia) in April to press for the UN to propose a new, detailed framework for Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

Israel social worker strike ends after three weeks

Israeli social workers have voted to end their three-week strike after accepting a deal reached between the Histadrut (Israeli TUC) and the Israeli Finance Ministry.

The agreement will result in the salaries of over 10,000 public-sector social workers increasing by an average of £180 a month. In addition, social workers from both the public and private sectors will receive an immediate £400 bonus.

Israeli doctors declare work dispute

More than 20,000 Israeli doctors could go on strike for the first time in 10 years if an agreement is not reached with the Finance Ministry in the next few days.

The Israeli Medical Association (IMA) announced a work dispute on 20 March between doctors in the public sector and the Finance Ministry, after extensive negotiations failed to satisfy their demands to improve working conditions. A doctors' strike in 2000 in Israel lasted nearly five months.

The two parties have been holding ongoing negotiations for over seven months in an attempt to find an agreement on wages and the shortage of medical staff in hospitals.

The director of the IMA, Dr Leonid Eidelman, said: "After a decade during which the doctors did not strike out of a deep sense of responsibility toward the public and the system, and after infinite attempts to find real solutions for the public health system's problems, we have come to the conclusion that the finance ministry wants a sick health system. Announcing a work dispute is a very difficult step for us, we are concerned about severe harm done to the patients, but not doing anything and standing idle as the system crashes will be more severe and with long-term implications."

Israeli pension scheme established for Palestinian residents of Gaza who used to work in Israel

The Israeli government is paying pensions to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip who worked in Israel before Hamas’ violent seizure of the territory in 2007. Through a new agreement between the Israeli interior ministry, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) and the Palestinian Authority, Israel has transferred 1.6 million shekels to the Palestinian National Bank in Ramallah, which has now transferred the money to former Israeli employees.

Left-wing activists hold conference on the future of the movement

Around 700 left-wing activists met in Tel Aviv on Friday (25 March) for a conference about the future of their movement. Organised by Peace Now, the conference covered such issues as the potential for uniting Israel’s different left-wing and centre-left political parties and movements, how to succeed in electoral politics, and what the response should be to the recent revolutions in the Middle East. The conference hosted a number of current and former MKs, including Daniel Ben-Simon (Labor), Colette Avital (Labor), Ophir Pines (Labor), Haim Oron (Meretz) and Naomi Chazan (Meretz).

Female journalists report beatings and torture by Hamas

Several female Palestinian journalists reported being beaten and tortured by Hamas security forces on Sunday (27 March) for covering the pro-unity demonstrations. This comes after Hamas forces destroyed equipment and threatened employees of CNN, Reuters, and the Japanese NHK news agency. Another demonstration of over 500 young people calling for unity in Gaza City was broken up violently on Wednesday (30 March) by Hamas.

British national killed in Jerusalem bus bombing and over 30 wounded

Mary Jean Gardner, a British national, was killed on Wednesday (23 March) by a bomb at a crowded bus stop in central Jerusalem. 39 people were also injured in the terror attack, 8 seriously. The explosion was caused by a device hidden in a bag at a bus stop opposite Jerusalem’s central bus station, detonated whilst two buses were alongside it.