The New Unions in Palestine

JVL Introduction

The Palestine New Federation of Trade Unions (the New Unions) organises 15 000 Palestinian workers in both Israeli and Palestinian-operated corporations. They deserve every support.

On top of the normal challenges facing unionisation everywhere, Palestinian workers face a world of mainstream Palestinian trade unions controlled and co-opted by political parties; and a vindictive Israeli permit regime which restricts on the movement of Palestinians, stifles resistance and is hugely corrupt.

Workers crossing to Israel often have to pay brokers (Palestinian and Israeli) grotesque sums for their services; those in the settlements require security clearance, yet over half of such workers have in fact been refused clearance and work in the settlements illegally, and with minimal protection.

As Shqair shows, Israeli oppression is three-tiered system: settler colonialism, military occupation and apartheid. It strangles the Palestinian economy, and shows the agenda of capitalist globalisation at its worst, in its intersection with other oppressive systems.

And yet the New Unions survive and organise!

This article was originally published by Global Labour Column on Mon 7 Nov 2022. Read the original here.