Conservative Friends of Israel – Written evidence (TUP0009)

Conservative Friends of Israel works to promote its twin aims of supporting Israel and promoting Conservatism in the UK.

Executive Summary

The current system of trade union political funding enables trade unions to use their members’ fees to fund political campaigns with inadequate transparency, raising serious concerns for accountability. The inclusion of Clauses 10 and 11 of the Trade Union Bill would address the lack of transparency and accountability regarding political funding within trade unions.

Clauses 10 and 11 of the Bill are not about donations to the Labour Party. Trade Unions spend more than half of their political funds on campaigns and political movements targeting specific causes. On 4 February 2016, Mr Ian McNichol, General Secretary of the Labour Party stated that of the £22million raised by the political funds of trade unions affiliated to the Labour Party, £12million or 54.5% of the sums raised is actually spent on political campaigns and not on donations to the Labour Party.[1]

A number of trade unions support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS), a political movement whose objective is the undermining of Israel. The costs amassed from the active support of BDS by trade unions and the significant donations given to parliamentarians who campaign against Israel are financed by the political funds of trade unions.

At present, union members contribute to the political fund of a union unless they opt-out of doing so. There is no active decision by union members to contribute. As a result, many union members may be unaware that a portion of their membership fee funds campaigns that attack Israel, and other political campaigns. Given the controversial nature of these campaigns, clear consent from the individual member making the financial contribution is imperative.

The proposed opt-in policy of Clause 10 will ensure that the consent of union members is unambiguous; apathy is not a political decision and should not continue to be regarded as such.

Political campaigns are funded by the fees of trade union members, yet it is union leaders who determine the direction of spending. Clause 11 will allow members to see a breakdown of political spending, providing them with a clear and transparent understanding of how their money is spent.

Due to the lack of transparency for payments into political funds, union members may not be aware that they are inadvertently funding these campaigns. The inclusion of Clauses 10 and 11 would ensure the accountability of the political funding process and empower members to scrutinise the spending of their unions.

This evidence focuses on four major UK trade unions advocating the BDS movement in order to expose the financial support given to Members of Parliament who actively campaign against Israel. This document is not intended to be a comprehensive review of the political spending of trade unions; this evidence instead seeks to provide a digestible account of the spending policy of major trade unions regarding anti-Israel activity. An additional list of union activity considered to be anti-Israel is attached and marked Annex A.

1) What difference would an opt-in policy make?

Between 1927 and 1946, following the repeal of the 1927 Trade Disputes and Trade Union Act, union members were required to opt-in rather than opt-out of the political levy. This was reversed in 1946 by the post-war Labour Government, but retained by the Government in Northern Ireland.

The present system does not give union members an active choice. They may not wish to contribute to the political fund of their union but are either unaware of the ability to opt-out or find it difficult to do so. Their fees may therefore be used to fund campaigns that the member would prefer not to support.

If union members were required to opt-in rather than opt-out, they may examine more closely how their money is spent and decide against opting-in if their money goes towards supporting campaigns such as BDS and those indicated in Annex A.

By implementing an opt-in policy, as set out by Clause 10, members would be able to exert greater control over their union membership fees, and monitor the political expenditure of their union.

Evidence

Unite

Unite the Union, the biggest trade union in the UK, with 1.42 million members, supports BDS, and specifically supports: “the boycott of any goods produced from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank; divestment from financial holdings in any companies, funds or organisations complicit in the ongoing illegal occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people; sanctions against Israel for its continued illegal occupation, flouting of international law, and construction of an apartheid regime”.[2]

A motion passed at the Unite conference in 2014 stated: “Conference notes that the Israeli government continues to govern as an apartheid state and is guilty of the crime of apartheid. The oppression faced by ordinary Palestinians at the hands of their colonial oppressors and the way in which their plight is used as a political bargaining chip cannot be allowed to continue as it has done for so many decades…”[3]

Unite donated £5,000 in June 2015 to Richard Burden MP, a Labour MP with well-documented anti-Israel views. Burden repeatedly accuses Israel of apartheid and uses Twitter regularly to attack Israel.[4]

Unite donated £3,000 in June 2015 to Jim Cunningham MP, an anti-Israel campaigner in Parliament. Cunningham regularly denies Israel’s status as a democracy and dedicates a section on his website to expressing his anti-Israel views.[5]

Unite donated £3,900 in June 2015 to Louise Haigh MP, the Vice-Chair of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East.[6]

Unite donated £4,000 to Lisa Nandy MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change) via Wigan Constituency Labour Party in March 2015. Nandy is the Vice-Chair of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East and campaigned strongly for the Labour Party’s boycott of G4S (due to G4S’s contracts with the Israeli Government).[7]

UNISON

UNISON, one of the UK’s largest trade unions, with 1.3 million members, supports the BDS movement.[8]

In June 2015, UNISON launched a campaign to press local government pension funds to divest from companies “associated with the occupation of Palestine”, including security contractor G4S and defence manufacturers. UNISON instructed members to “make sure that [their] pension scheme doesn’t invest in the occupation”.[9]

A campaign pack was made available to UNISON members entitled “Palestine: Is your pension fund investing in the occupation?”[10] Also made available was a model presentation for branch meetings and further information on the BDS movement.[11]

This campaign, funded by UNISON members, undoubtedly cost a significant amount of money. There is no clear spending review or published breakdown of costs of UNISON’s political campaigns; members are not informed on how their fees are spent.

National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT)

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has over 80,000 members and supports the BDS movement; encouraging members to boycott all Israeli goods.[12]

RMT boycotts all Israeli goods: “Our union has a clear policy for the boycott of Israeli goods as one of the ways that we can register our outrage and horror at the massacre that has been unleashed on the Palestinian people”.[13]

RMT donated £4,000 in June 2015 to Grahame Morris MP. Morris is a staunch anti-Israel campaigner in Parliament and Chair of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East.[14]

RMT donated £2,500 to Lisa Nandy MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change) via Wigan Constituency Labour Party in March 2015. Nandy is the Vice-Chair of Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East and campaigned strongly for the Labour Party’s boycott of G4S (due to G4S’s contracts with the Israeli Government).[15]

National Union of General and Municipal Workers (GMB)

The National Union of General and Municipal Workers (GMB) has 631,000 members and supports the BDS movement.[16]

In 2013, GMB banned its members from visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories with Trade Union Friends of Israel (TUFI). It voted in June 2013 to uphold a 2011 decision to ““take a lead in driving forward the boycott and divestment initiatives of “companies who profit from illegal settlements, the occupation and the construction of the wall”.[17]

Conclusion

Clauses 10 and 11 of the Trade Union Bill have the potential to deliver transparency and accountability and would be well-received by a public increasingly cynical of powerful but opaque institutions.

Currently, trade unions use their political funds to gain influence within Parliament, with many donating money to specific MPs as well as directly financing the Labour Party.

The financial support provided to a number of MPs inevitably aids activity favourable to the trade union; in this instance the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement has been highlighted as a major cause for concern.

Though the trade union leadership have objected to the proposed policy changes put forth in the Trade Union Bill, Clauses 10 and 11 are in the interest of all trade union members as well as the wider public who stand to benefit from such constructive change.

In no other walk of life would it be considered acceptable to have to opt-out of donating money to a cause or organisation. Donation to a cause or political party by a member of any organisation should be an act of individual choice. The current opt-out system of the trade union political fund fails to provide this choice and does not offer transparency to a union member.

Trade union members should be made aware of how their contribution to political funds is spent; many members may currently be unaware that the political fund of their union is spent supporting campaigns such as BDS and may choose to opt-out if a breakdown of expenditure (as required by Clause 11) was provided.

The Conservative Party Manifesto stated that these transparent processes would be put in place during this parliament; it is in the interest of transparency that these changes are delivered.

ANNEX A

TRADE UNIONS: Anti-Israel Activity (2010-2016)

Unite

GMB

Unison

Communication Workers Union

Unite

Unite the Union are affiliated to Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC Trade Union Network, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

In 2015, Unite promoted a demonstration arranged by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign outside the Israeli Embassy (Unite Protest for Palestine, 16 October 2015, link).

In 2014, Unite promoted a march through London on the behalf of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign ‘against the massacre of innocent people living in the Gaza strip who are under constant bombardment by the Israeli army’.

Unite reminded their activists that ‘London and Eastern region is expecting a large turn out from members in a show of solidarity with the people of Palestine’ (Unite the Union London and Eastern News, 24 July 2014, link).

Unite launched a campaign against G4S, accusing them of being a ‘serial human rights abuser’.

In the briefing pack that Unite created for trade unionists, they said the Israeli ‘regime tramples on human rights in sites supplied by G4S’ and said that ‘evidence of G4S complicity in the suppression of Palestinian rights is overwhelming. G4S can carry on until someone stops them. Most trade unions in Britain…have strong policies of solidarity. What are we waiting for?’ (Unite the Union Stop G4S, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

In 2013, Unite hosted a briefing for trade union activists from Action for Palestinian Children and encouraged members to access information about meetings the NGO were holding elsewhere (Unite the Union London and Eastern News, 14 November 2013, link).
At their 2010 policy conference, Unite unanimously passed a motion to boycott Israeli companies.

The motion called the union to ‘vigorously promote a policy of divestment from Israeli companies’ with a boycott of Israeli goods and services ‘similar to the boycott of South African goods during the era of apartheid’ (The Jewish Chronicle, 4 June 2010, link).

Unite issued a statement of solidarity with the Palestinian people describing Israel as an ‘apartheid state’, in July 2014.

They said: ‘Unite further calls on the UK government to demand the Israeli government halt its military action and to make it clear that should it fail to do so then a move for international sanctions will be launched within the United Nations Security Council and the European Union…

Unite is clear about its understanding of the current situation. This isn’t about rockets from Gaza. It’s about Israel fighting to maintain its control over Palestinian lives, and Palestinian land.

It’s about Israel feeling able to commit war crimes with complete impunity. It’s about the world media indicating that Palestinian lives are worth less than Israeli lives. It’s about the fact that Palestinian children are being killed at the rate of one every three days. It’s about millions of Palestinians living under illegal occupation. It’s about the brutal siege on Gaza, and the third military assault on a trapped population in less than 6 years. It’s about more than sixty laws that discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel.

It’s about Israeli-state racism and apartheid. It’s about ethnic cleansing. It’s about colonisation, and over 500,000 settlers. It’s about Israel’s systematic violations of international law and Palestinian human rights’ (Unite the Union News, 11 July 2014, link).

Unite called on activists to demand ‘an end to the military aggression’ to ‘support the boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign’ and specifically support:

the boycott of any goods produced from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank;
divestment from financial holdings in any companies, funds or organisations complicit in the ongoing illegal occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people;
sanctions against Israel for its continued illegal occupation, flouting of international law, and construction of an apartheid regime (Unite the Union News, 11 July 2014, link).

They sent two Unite delegations to the Palestinian Territories in 2013, arranged by PSC, to help ‘strengthen Unite’s solidarity with Palestinian workers and civil society’.

A 2013 Unite Conference on Palestine committed to:

 ‘Raise awareness, build support, campaign and lobby for a free and independent Palestine;

 Highlight the suffering, and support the Palestinian population in Gaza living under siege; Palestinians living in the West Bank who are seeing their land illegally seized by Israeli settlements and are forced to navigate checkpoints to go to work, school and hospital and in Israel, where they are treated as second class citizens and subject to racist laws;

 Work with other NGOs and all other supportive bodies in the UK and around the world and develop a Unite campaigning and leverage strategy around BDS within the next 12 months. Notably against complicit companies involved in the occupation, the apartheid wall and the illegal settlements (such as Veolia, G4S and Sainsbury’s) through workforce pressure, contracts and pension funds;

 Encourage members to call on supermarkets and retailers to stop using companies which export goods from illegal settlements;

 Continue to support and offer practical help to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and encourage all branches to affiliate to PSC;

 Encourage branches and regions to send representatives on delegations to Palestine, to further strengthen the solidarity with Palestinian workers;

 Organise and facilitate with other union bodies and campaigning groups, a national speaking tour to include lawyers and child prisoners/families in the next 12 months;

 Raise the issue and table motions for support of the BDS campaign in the European and Global Federations;

 Organise and facilitate national or regional delegations to be sent to Palestine at least twice a year;’

(Unite the Union: Israel and Palestine Global Solidarity & Peace, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

After a three day conference in 2014, Unite joined the BDS campaign and pledged to develop a campaigning and leverage strategy together over the next year.

The focus would be particularly on companies involved in ‘the occupation, the apartheid wall and the illegal settlements’ (i24 news, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

In 2015, the General Secretary signed a letter calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be tried for war crimes.

The letter also called for the Prime Minister to ‘impose immediate sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel until it complies with international law and ends the blockade and the occupation’ (The Guardian, 7 September 2015, link).

In July 2014, Unite resolved to campaign for boycott of goods produced by Israeli settlements and divest from any financial holdings in any companies or funds linked to the settlements (Unite press release, 11 July 2014, link).

GMB

GMB are affiliated to Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC Trade Union Network, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

GMB supported the National Lobby of Parliament for Palestine which included an e-tool to allow activists to lobby their MPs and attempt to book meetings with their MP, a Parliamentary event in Portcullis House, campaign literature and an evening rally. The stated aims of the lobbying day was to persuade MPs to:

‘Challenge ethnic cleansing and discriminatory policies; Support the campaign against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Bedouin from their homes and land in the Naqab (also known as the Negev desert) in Israel;
Ban settlement goods; Israel’s illegal settlements are built on Palestinian land. The UN, EU and UK acknowledge that these settlements are harmful and illegal – but if they are illegal, what are goods produced in settlements doing in our shops?;
Respect for prisoners’ rights and an end to Israel’s illegal treatment of Palestinian prisoners, including children; ask your MP to challenge imprisonment without charge or trial and to press for proper medical care. Ask them to pledge support to help end the abuse of Palestinian children;
An end to the siege on Gaza; the blockade of Gaza started in 2007 and continues today. Israel severely restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement; blocks almost all exports and restricts imports, creating a humanitarian catastrophe. Tell your MP it is time to end the blockade of Gaza’. (Final Lobbying, 5 February 2016, link).

In July 2013, the GMB voted to support boycott and divestment initiatives against Israeli settlements.

They also banned its members from visiting Israel on delegations organised by the Trade Union Friends of Israel. The measures included a compromise amendment condemning Hamas as well as Israel (BDS News, 11 June 2013, link; The Jewish Chronicle, 17 September 2009, link).

The union had affirmed that it is ‘unashamedly’ affiliated to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (BDS News, 11 June 2013, link).

Unison

Unison are affiliated to Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC Trade Union Network, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

Unison had adopted a policy of BDS before the TUC voted to back the measures (The Jewish Chronicle, 15 September 2009, link).

In June 2015, UNISON launched a campaign to lobby councils to divest their Local Government Pension Schemes from companies linked with ‘Israel’s occupation of Palestine’ (A UNISON guide to pension fund engagement and divestment, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

Communication Workers Union

CWU are affiliated to Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC Trade Union Network, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

CWU supported the National Lobby of Parliament for Palestine which included an e-tool to allow activists to lobby their MPs and attempt to book meetings with their MP, a Parliamentary event in Portcullis House, campaign literature and an evening rally. The stated aims of the lobbying day was to persuade MPs to:

‘Challenge ethnic cleansing and discriminatory policies; Support the campaign against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Bedouin from their homes and land in the Naqab (also known as the Negev desert) in Israel;
Ban settlement goods; Israel’s illegal settlements are built on Palestinian land. The UN, EU and UK acknowledge that these settlements are harmful and illegal – but if they are illegal, what are goods produced in settlements doing in our shops?;
Respect for prisoners’ rights and an end to Israel’s illegal treatment of Palestinian prisoners, including children; ask your MP to challenge imprisonment without charge or trial and to press for proper medical care. Ask them to pledge support to help end the abuse of Palestinian children;
An end to the siege on Gaza; the blockade of Gaza started in 2007 and continues today. Israel severely restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement; blocks almost all exports and restricts imports, creating a humanitarian catastrophe. Tell your MP it is time to end the blockade of Gaza’. (Final Lobbying, 5 February 2016, link).

CWU supported a campaign urging as many people as possible to sign a petition calling for a United Nations Human Rights Commission of Inquiry to investigate possible war crimes in Gaza (CWU News, 15 October 2014, link).

USDAW

USDAW are affiliated to Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC Trade Union Network, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

UCATT

UCATT are affiliated to Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC Trade Union Network, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

Of their position on Palestine, UCATT said: ‘UCATT backs Palestinian self-determination and an end to the Israeli occupation. The Executive Council supports the boycott and sanctions campaign against Israel and calls on branches to affiliate to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’ (Building Worker, accessed 5 February 2016, link).

BFAWU

BFAWU are affiliated to Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC Trade Union Network, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

Supported the movements calling on the British Government to ‘denounce the relentless attacks on innocent Palestinians and to hold the Israeli Government to account for the attacks in Gaza’. Ronnie Draper, General Secretary BFAWU said: ‘The BFAWU support the TUCG statement and would urge our members, fellow Trade Unionists and affiliates to join the rallies and demonstrate against the attacks on Gaza and make the call for sustainable peace. In the meantime, we would ask supporters to write to their local MPs asking them to bring these issues into the wider political arena and make the call for a peaceful, two-state solution that works for everyone’ (Trade Union Co-Ordinating Group, accessed 5 February 2016, link).

ASLEF

ASLEF supported the National Lobby of Parliament for Palestine which included an e-tool to allow activists to lobby their MPs and attempt to book meetings with their MP, a Parliamentary event in Portcullis House, campaign literature and an evening rally. The stated aims of the lobbying day was to persuade MPs to:

‘Challenge ethnic cleansing and discriminatory policies; Support the campaign against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Bedouin from their homes and land in the Naqab (also known as the Negev desert) in Israel;
Ban settlement goods; Israel’s illegal settlements are built on Palestinian land. The UN, EU and UK acknowledge that these settlements are harmful and illegal – but if they are illegal, what are goods produced in settlements doing in our shops?;
Respect for prisoners’ rights and an end to Israel’s illegal treatment of Palestinian prisoners, including children; ask your MP to challenge imprisonment without charge or trial and to press for proper medical care. Ask them to pledge support to help end the abuse of Palestinian children;
An end to the siege on Gaza; the blockade of Gaza started in 2007 and continues today. Israel severely restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement; blocks almost all exports and restricts imports, creating a humanitarian catastrophe. Tell your MP it is time to end the blockade of Gaza’. (Final Lobbying, 5 February 2016, link).

In 2015 the General Secretary signed a letter calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be tried for war crimes and for the Prime Minister to ‘impose immediate sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel until it complies with international law and ends the blockade and the occupation’ (The Guardian, 7 September 2015, link).

ASLEF is affiliated with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. In a leaflet ASLEF states: ‘Palestinian workers living under Israeli occupation struggle every day: to get work permits, to get past checkpoints, to find work, and to negotiate acceptable wages and working conditions. They struggle to access adequate housing, basic sanitation, health care, food and water. Many have been displaced and forced into exile. It is because of these injustices that ASLEF, along with 14 other national unions, is affiliated to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and calls for a complete lift of the on-going blockade and for Israeli compliance with international law with regards to the people of Palestine’. The document goes on to stress ways in which ASLEF can support PSC: ‘By building awareness-raising, developing international solidarity and using economic, political and social pressure, we aim to bring hope to Palestinians and to realise lasting justice and peace in the region. That is why ASLEF supports the work of PSC and the people of Palestine by promoting PSC’s campaigns and events, encouraging local PSC and ASLEF branches to build links, encouraging ASLEF members to visit Palestine on PSC delegations, lobbying MPs for more progressive government policies for the region, speaking about these issues at conferences and fringe meetings and attending PSC Trade Union Advisory Committee meeting’ (ASLEF, accessed 5 February 2015, link).

Mick Whelan, ASLEF’s General Secretary, was part of a trade union delegation to Palestinian Territories. During the trip between the July 21st and 28th 2015 he visited the Palestinian Territories alongside other Union executives including Colin Smith and Marz Colombini. (ASLEF, September 22 2015, link).

TSSA

TSSA are affiliated to Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC Trade Union Network, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

In 2015 the General Secretary signed a letter calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be tried for war crimes and for the Prime Minister to ‘impose immediate sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel until it complies with international law and ends the blockade and the occupation’ (The Guardian, 7 September 2015, link).

Sent a delegation alongside Unite to the Palestinian Territories in 2013. The delegation was sent to Palestine ‘to observe, to offer solidarity and to develop ways in which people in Britain can help them achieve the freedom they have long sought’ (TSSA news, accessed 5 February 2016, link).
Joined a boycott for ‘justice in Palestine’. A TSSA conference in September 2015 joined with the international campaign for boycotts, divestment and sanctions to achieve ‘freedom and equality for the Palestinian people’. (TSSA Journal, accessed 5 February 2016, link)
Made a donation to the Labour Friends of Palestine (TSSA Executive Committee Report, accessed 5 February 2016, link).

TSSA was one of the groups that funded a report into the Palestinians by Union Solidarity International. The report was published on the 14th September 2015. (USI, accessed 5 February 2016, link).

Fire Brigades Union

FBU are affiliated to Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC Trade Union Network, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

FBU supported the National Lobby of Parliament for Palestine which included an e-tool to allow activists to lobby their MPs and attempt to book meetings with their MP, a Parliamentary event in Portcullis House, campaign literature and an evening rally. The stated aims of the lobbying day was to persuade MPs to:

‘Challenge ethnic cleansing and discriminatory policies; Support the campaign against the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Bedouin from their homes and land in the Naqab (also known as the Negev desert) in Israel;
Ban settlement goods; Israel’s illegal settlements are built on Palestinian land. The UN, EU and UK acknowledge that these settlements are harmful and illegal – but if they are illegal, what are goods produced in settlements doing in our shops?;
Respect for prisoners’ rights and an end to Israel’s illegal treatment of Palestinian prisoners, including children; ask your MP to challenge imprisonment without charge or trial and to press for proper medical care. Ask them to pledge support to help end the abuse of Palestinian children;
An end to the siege on Gaza; the blockade of Gaza started in 2007 and continues today. Israel severely restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement; blocks almost all exports and restricts imports, creating a humanitarian catastrophe. Tell your MP it is time to end the blockade of Gaza’. (Final Lobbying, 5 February 2016, link).

The FBU successfully lobbied to have the TUC back a boycott of Israeli goods.

Before the vote, their activity prompted Unite and Unison to back BDS (The Jewish Chronicle, 15 September 2009, link).

A resolution was passed in 2011 to further the international work of the FBU and to support the Palestinians. The resolution stated: ‘Conference urges the Executive Council to work with political allies to exert continued pressure on the UK Government to not only impose sanctions against Israel, but also to provide support to Emergency Service Workers in East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Occupied West Bank. Conference further instructs the Executive Council to investigate a further project, in conjunction with other UK Trade Unions where possible, which will provide physical support for Palestinian Emergency Service Workers’ (Fire Brigades Union Policies, accessed 5 February 2016, link).

The FBU have been long standing supporters of Nablus since 1982. In 2011 the FBU raised money to buy two fire engines and drive them 2,500 miles to the West Bank to donate to the fire service in Nablus. The FBU also provide co-coordinators to firefighters from the Palestine Civil Defence and help them receive training in firefighting, water rescue, traffic collision, and urban search and rescue. (The Guardian, 11 February 2015, link).

RMT

RMT are affiliated to Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC Trade Union Network, accessed 4 February 2016, link).

In 2015 the General Secretary signed a letter calling for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be tried for war crimes and for the Prime Minister to ‘impose immediate sanctions and an arms embargo on Israel until it complies with international law and ends the blockade and the occupation’ (The Guardian, 7 September 2015, link).

TUC

(N.B. the TUC is the umbrella group for trade unions in the UK. About seven million workers belong to the 58 unions which pay to affiliate to the TUC. (BBC News, 28 August 2008, link).

In 2014 the TUC voted overwhelmingly to endorse a statement from its General Council calling ‘for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement until the rights of Palestinians are established’.

The statement welcomed ‘the creation of a unity government for the Palestinian Authority, which necessarily involves both Fatah and Hamas’ and urged ‘the UK Government and the European Union to support this development’.

It also called on the Israeli state to pay for humanitarian assistance and rebuilding Gaza and urged unions and their members to give to international trade union humanitarian aid funds aimed at providing assistance to the people of Gaza (PSC News, 10 September 2014, link).

The Director of PSC Sarah Colborne responded: ‘This landmark statement puts the TUC, and the 54 unions it represents, combining a total of nearly six million workers in the UK, firmly behind the Palestinian struggle.

Its significance cannot be underestimated. Thanks to this statement, it is now official TUC policy to campaign for an arms embargo on Israel, a suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement and to push forward the campaign to stop companies profiting from Israel’s crimes.

This is a huge boost to the solidarity movement, and is strongly welcomed by PSC, which continues to work with the UK’s unions in the struggle for justice for Palestinians’ (PSC News, 10 September 2014, link).

In 2010, the TUC Congress instructed the General Council to actively encourage affiliates, employers and pension funds to disinvest from, and boycott the goods of, companies who ‘profit from illegal settlements, the occupations and the construction of the Wall’ (TUC Policy, accessed 2 February 2016, link).

10 February 2016

[1] Ian McNichol, Evidence to Select Committee on Trade Union Political Funds and Political Party Funding, 4 February 2016