New TUFI Website

TUFI has launched a beta version of its new website, which features: videos; photo galleries; information about Israeli-Palestinian trade union co-operation; industrial news from the Middle East; news about TUFI's delegations to Israel and Palestine; and much more.

Please check it out here: www.tufi.org.uk

Israeli and Palestinian economic efforts in the West Bank praised by the US, IMF and Quartet Representative

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday (15 July) that relaxed Israeli conditions on internal trade and improved security have led to significant improvements in the Palestinian economy in the West Bank. The report by Oussama Kanaan, the IMF mission chief to the West Bank and Gaza, calls for restrictions on movement to continue to be removed:

“Continuation of the relaxation of the restrictions could result in real GDP growth in the West Bank of 7 percent for 2009 as a whole. This would represent the first significant improvement in living standards in the West Bank since 2006.” (15/07/09)

The IMF report also praised the “steady [economic] progress” the Palestinians have made for themselves, with particular credit given to Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, himself a former World Bank economist and holder of a PhD in economics. Read more...

Palestinian and Israeli stone unions join forces

Palestinian stone workers and Israeli traders are joining forces to aid the passage of products from Palestinian workshops in the West Bank into Israel.  In a joint letter sent to the Israeli Army Minister Matan Vilani, Israeli and Palestinian stone unions have said that fake permit documents were being sold to Palestinian producers to ease their transit through check points. 

Palestinian stone manufacturer, Nassar Nassar, one the biggest figures in the stone industry world-wide, said Israeli contractors had told him that fraudsters were offering steady supplies of stone from Palestinian facilities in exchange for commission fees.  He said those who reject the offer see their supply of stone become inconsistent while those who make the payments enjoy a regular supply.  

Nassar said on the 23 July that his colleagues recently asked for help from US security personnel operating in the West Bank, as well as the UN Middle East Quartet Envoy, Tony Blair. Read more...

European Court rules that Israel boycotts are illegal

The European Court of Human Rights (EDHR) has upheld a ruling by a French court which prosecuted a city mayor for calling for a boycott of Israeli goods.

The ECHR upheld French domestic anti-discrimination law with six votes to one, ruling that its application was not unlawful under Article 10 of the European Declaration on Human Rights - the right to free speech.  The panel of seven judges decided that preventing discrimination against (and harm to) Israeli suppliers was a legitimate reason to constrain freedom of speech under the EDHR.

The ruling did not say that boycotts of Israel were illegal throughout Europe and it will not have a direct impact on domestic UK law, however it is being seen as a positive development. Read more...

Community union leader criticises STUC boycott position

The general secretary of Community Union has written to Mary Senior, the Assistant General-Secretary of the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) outlining his position on boycotts.  Michael Leahy wrote on 21 July saying that he profoundly disagreed with Ms Senior’s support for a trade union boycott of Israel and that “dialogue in the Middle East not boycotts has long been the position of the Community Union”.  The British union leader also added that he was glad to hear his Scottish counterpart had acknowledged that the Palestinian national trade union federation, the PGFTU, does not support a boycott of Israel.

Mr Leahy is one of the founders of TULIP (Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine), a new global movement to fight against boycotts and for positive Israeli-Palestinian trade union co-operation.  The other founders include Paul Howes, National Secretary of the Australian Workers Union and Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (USA).  Mr Leahy said that TULIP was “a genuine attempt to bring people together to talk across borders and create peace and solidarity, the way I believe only trade unions can”. Read more...

New Israeli law forces bosses to talk to unions

The Histadrut (Israeli TUC) has won important changes to Israeli labour law as part of recent budget negotiations.  On the 14 July the Knesset Labour, Welfare and Health Committee approved a number of new labour laws, later sending them to a vote as part of the 2009-2010 budget.  One new law requires employers to negotiate with labour unions in the workplace and other changes include administrative and criminal sanctions against employers not paying the minimum wage. 

The new laws are part of the budget package negotiated by the economic roundtable forum that includes representatives from unions, employers and the government.  Commenting on the new laws, the Ha'aretz daily newspaper wrote that the Histadrut, under Ofer Eini, had become more relevant, wielding direct and important influence over government policy.  In an editorial, Haim Bor wrote that the Histadrut had been “transformed from an alienated organisation despised by broad swathes of the populace, to a relevant organisation at the forefront of the national economic stage … The Histadrut is a winner in this deal.” Read more...

El Al union declares work dispute

Employees of El Al, Israel’s national airline, declared a dispute on 28 July over changes to work conditions.  The Histadrut said in a statement that El Al had begun to charge employees for tax on airline tickets and was requiring them to pay for meals and other expenses.  According to Israeli law, a strike can be called two weeks after a labour dispute is declared.

The chief executive of El Al, Haim Romano, said that “management was doing all it can to prevent job losses” and that the company wanted to reduce perks rather than cut salaries. Read more...

WAC's annual conference held in Tel Aviv

The NGO Workers’ Advice Centre (WAC), or Ma'an in Arabic, held its annual conference in Tel Aviv (18 July) on issues of empowering weakened workers.  More than 100 members attended, including both Jewish and Arab workers employed as drivers, archaeological workers, lecturers and labourers.

The conference outlined WAC policies and fields of activity, such as: youth training in schools; empowerment courses for working women; cooperation with other NGOs, colleges and workers' rights activists; and organising a central event to mark International Women’s Day. Read more...

2,800 metal workers laid off this year

The Israel Manufacturers Association said on the 22 July that the Israeli metal and electricity industry laid-off nearly 3,000 employees in the first four months of 2009.  The union said that exports and production plunged by 32 percent and 20 percent respectively.  

The chairman of the Metal, Electrical and Infrastructure Industries Association, Moshe Cohen, said that "by the end of the year, we expect the industry to put another 7,000 workers out of their jobs."Read more...

Israeli unemployment climbs to 8.4%

Unemployment in Israel grew significantly again in May 2009, reaching 8.4%.  The Central Bureau of Statistics announced on 18 July that 258,500 people were now unemployed in Israel.  Unemployment has been rising steadily since its low of 5.9% in August 2008, and has grown for nine consecutive months.  The Finance Ministry and the Bank of Israel have both forecast that unemployment will continue to rise, nearing 9% by the end of the year.

Manufacturers Association economists have said that the implementation of a package deal a few months ago between the Finance Ministry, employers and unions could halt the growth in unemployment in the first half of 2010. Read more...

Delaying employees’ salaries illegal and punishable by prison

The Knesset's Labour and Welfare Committee approved an employment bill on Tuesday 21 July that would make any delay in paying salaries illegal, punishable by up to six months in prison and a £5,000 fine.   According to the bill, the industry, trade and labor minister would be able to impose a fine and then increase it with every day that passes.  In cases of recurring delays, the fine will double and the minister will be able to file criminal charges against employers who delay salaries for over 90 days.

The Histadrut said that it hopes the new sanctions would contribute to curbing salary delays both in the private and public sectors.  The bill is the last of twelve legislative amendments proposed by the Histadrut. Read more...

Thousands protest over deportation of migrant workers

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday 25 July to protest the recent deportation of migrant workers and refugees by Israel’s immigration authorities.  It was the third such protest in three weeks since the new type of “Australian” immigration force began carrying out raids and arrests.      

Dov Khenin MK, a member of the Israeli parliament, called for Israel to immediately stop allowing in more migrant workers while expelling others, and said he was confident that more politicians would join the struggle.  According to the Israeli Immigration Ministry, more than 250,000 illegal workers live in Israel. Read more...

Obama begins to pressure Arab world for deal with Israel

As part of the US policy to push towards a Middle East peace deal, President Barack Obama's administration is applying pressure on Arab states to offer normalisation gestures that will follow Israel's agreement to cease settlement construction in the West Bank. The reciprocity strategy is currently being discussed in Israel between high-level officials from both sides. Most of the attention so far was focused on the Israeli-US dialogue on settlement construction in the West Bank, but the White House yesterday confirmed that Obama had sent letters in the past two months to Arab and Gulf states calling for their response to include confidence building measures towards Israel.

Recently, other US officials have backed Obama's reciprocal strategy. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that, "Arab states have a responsibility to support the Palestinian Authority with words and deeds, to take steps to improve relations with Israel and to prepare their publics to embrace peace and accept Israel's place in the region." A State Department official also told the Forward that US envoy George Mitchell engages in dialogue with all parties including the Palestinians and Arab states as a way to re-launch negotiation and involve the whole region in the process.

Meanwhile, US Middle East Envoy Mitchell finished off his meetings in Israel yesterday (July 28) and held discussions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for two and a half hours. According to reports, Mitchell left Israeli leaders with the impression that he will be able to receive normalisation gestures from the Arab world within a month. At the conclusion of the meeting no agreement between Israel and the US was announced, but sources say that the sides were getting close to finding a common ground and Mitchell is due to return to Israel in August. Israeli officials believe that negotiations with the Palestinians are likely to resume after an agreement is reached between the US and Israel regarding a freeze on settlement construction. Read more...