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TUC's practical solidarity with Palestinian trade unionists begins.

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TUC's practical solidarity with Palestinian trade unionists begins.

Last week the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) kicked off the first in a series of capacity building workshops, supported by the British trade union movement. This two-day workshop in Nablus enabled 19 women and five men from eight Palestinian trade unions to understand the 'Decent Work Agenda' and how it can help trade unionists tackle poverty and occupation.participants in the workshop

These officers and lay members were from unions covering textiles, health care, petrochemicals, public services, teaching, building and construction, tourism, food and agriculture, and media and printing.

The workshop covered the global dimensions of labour, from the origins of the ILO and its core conventions including the right to freedom of association (c87) and the right to organise and collectively bargain (c98), to the impacts of globalisation and the struggle to preserve workers' rights and freedoms in the face of neo-liberal restructuring.

It shed light on the principles of Decent Work including a suitable wage, appropriate work place environment and conditions, social protections, equality and gender issues, eradication of discrimination and child and forced labor.

Participant discussed the difficulties of securing Decent Work in Palestine. Israeli occupation measures including some 600 checkpoints (turning 40 minute journeys into four hour ones), an illegal apartheid wall and the blockade of Gaza severely restrict the lives of Palestinians and exacerbate the poverty and unemployment they face. Palestine's deteriorating infrastructure and predominantly informal labour market add to the challenges.

participants at the workshopIn confronting these obstacles, participants discussed strategies to achieve Decent Work such as strengthening the implementation of labor and social security laws; generating new jobs in agriculture, enhancing the position of women and combating child labor and discrimination.

This workshop is the first in a series of 12 being run by the PGFTU throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Funded by the British trade union movement, including a significant contribution by Unison, the workshops will also cover gender and women's rights, occupational health and safety, social security, union capacity building and child labour.

The TUC is also aiming to raise funds for building the capacity of the PGFTU's women's department, its media and information services and its youth department, especially to improve the organising skills of young unionists.

The PGFTU represents some 320,000 members in 12 unions in incredibly difficult circumstances. An estimated 70% of Palestinians live below the poverty line and a third of the workforce is unemployed. The PGFTU office in Gaza was seized by Hamas in 2007, before being destroyed by Israeli air force missiles in February this year.

These workshops have been funded as part of the TUC Aid 2008 appeal for trade unionists in Palestine, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. To donate to the appeal, or for more information visit here.

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