‘IN Gaza there’s a humanitarian crisis that shames the world. Thousands of starving civilians – women and children killed while queuing for food, hospitals, aid workers and journalists deliberately targeted,’ Paul Nowak, TUC General Secretary told the TUC Congress in Brighton yesterday morning.
‘Congress, Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups are clear, Amnesty International are clear, Medicins Sans Frontieres are clear and I think we should be clear.
‘Benjamin Nethanyu’s government is committing genocide in Gaza.
‘In April, I travelled to Palestine and saw the conditions workers and unions face in the West Bank. One of the communities I visited, where a mosque had been burnt out, has now been erased from the map at gunpoint by illegal settlers, homes, land, livelihoods – stolen.
‘I’m proud to say we are joined today by Shaher Saed, general secretary of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions. Shaher please stand up.
‘Today, in front of Shaher, let us reiterate our movement’s calls: a new, permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages and political prisoners, suspension of the UK’s trade deal with Israel, tougher sanctions, a ban on imports from the occupied territories, respect for international law, an end to licences for arms traded with Israel, and the immediate recognition of the State of Palestine.
‘Because you can’t have a two-state solution without a safe, secure and free Palestine. A better future in the Middle East.’
Nowak went on: ‘And Congress, a better future at home. A country where your postcode doesn’t determine your life chances. Where public services are a source of pride – not profit. Jobs you can build a life on. Wages that keep up with the cost of living – and then go further. Thriving communities and high streets. And a government that puts people, not profit, first…
‘So here is our challenge to government. Deliver that Employment Rights Bill in full, deliver the change you promised at the election and show working class people you are on their side.’
‘We want a big movement like the one that smashed apartheid’– TUC is told
Shaher Saed, General Secretary of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, addressed a lunchtime meeting at the TUC Congress yesterday, called by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).
Saed said: ‘I want to thank everyone for supporting Palestine which is the key issue facing the world today. It is vital for people across the globe.
‘What is being carried out by the Israeli regime is the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.
‘This is all happening under the guidance of the US President Trump – Trump is talking about the Riviera built on the bones and the flesh of the Palestinian people.
‘I am not only here to speak about the situation but I represent workers, workers who have their lives destroyed, families murdered, no clean water, no access to food, to hospital, to schools.
‘Workers who have had their livelihoods destroyed. We are aspiring to the freedom of our country. We demand a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 borders.
‘We are a people in resistance. We want a movement like the one in South Africa that was able to sweep away apartheid.
‘We are calling for those responsible for what has happened in Gaza and the rest of Palestine since October 2023 to face criminal charges and to be held responsible.
‘We demand that they are stopped from travelling to spread their hate-filled propaganda. We are under all-out war every day. This must be changed. Free, Free Palestine.’
Also speaking at the meeting were Louise Regan, NEU; Mick Whelan, ASLEF; Jo Grady, UCU; Fran Heathcote, PCS; Christina McAnea, Unison; Eddie Dempsey, RMT and Ben Jamal, PSC.
