rebelworker
6th June 2007, 21:10
http://libcom.org/library/interview-rasem-...-trade-unionist (http://libcom.org/library/interview-rasem-al-bayari-palestinian-trade-unionist)
Interview with Rasem Al Bayari, Palestinian trade unionist
tags: Middle East interviews Palestine PGFTU repression unions May 11th,
2007 by Ed
Being a trade unionist is a very dangerous business in Palestine.
Rasem Al Bayari, Deputy General Secretary of the PGFTU (Palestine General
Federation of Trade Unions), an ITUC affiliate, knows that well: following
the destruction of a PGFTU building in October 2006 and the firing of two
rockets at his home in January, on 6 April Rasem Al Bayari was injured by
masked men who attacked him while he was in a car with his family.
He describes these events and the enormous problems faced by workers in
Palestine.
Have you any idea who could have ordered these attacks?
The Palestinian authorities are to blame for the first and second attacks,
both the firing of rockets at my house and the attack on the PGFTU
building. Vehicles belonging to the Ministry of the Interior were used in
those attacks: any Palestinian can recognise them easily. We know that the
people who attacked the radio station work for the Interior Ministry.
PGFTU employees saw them and they painted messages on the walls of the
radio station after setting fire to it stating that “Hamas has been here”.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior admitted that the ministry
was responsible for those attacks. What is more, the Palestinian
authorities failed to condemn the violence against us and did not hold any
investigation.
Are such attacks frequent?
We are regularly shot at by the police when holding demonstrations in
support of workers’ rights. In October and November 2006, for instance, 13
workers were killed by police bullets at a demonstration calling for the
payment of wages and unemployment benefits. We also receive a lot of
threats, often by phone, and are warned that the government is going to
take some very severe measures against the unions and their buildings. We
have complained to the Ministry of the Interior about these threats,
asking them to identify the people making these phone calls, but the
ministry has done nothing.
Even the members of our journalists’ union who went on strike to support
the kidnapped BBC journalist, Alan Johnston, were attacked by the police,
but they have carried on fighting nonetheless. They erected tents near the
Legislative Council as a base for their protests against the abduction.
Why did they destroy the radio station?
It was a trade union radio station whose aim was to defend workers’ rights
and let them voice their opinions. The authorities were against the radio
station and said it “poisoned” the people. The station has now been
totally destroyed and the equipment was stolen by the attackers. There was
400,000 dollars’ worth of damage.
The main attack took place on 2 February 2007 at 5 am. Six workers were
present in the buildings at that time. The attack caused the workers to
panic and one of them jumped from the first floor and died later in
hospital. The others were arrested and then released.
What about the last attack against you personally, on 6 April?
I was driving around Gaza in a PGFTU vehicle with my wife, my children and
my mother. The assailants pointed guns at us, forced me to stop the car
and insisted that we get out of it and put our hands up. They then wanted
me to get back into it alone and to follow their car. As I refused to do
this they opened fire, aiming at the ground in front of me. Some broken
bullets and clods of earth injured my neck. My wife and children screamed.
Their cries, together with the gunshots, drew a lot of attention to what
was going on. The attackers then drove off with their car and the PGFTU
vehicle. The latter contained some of our valuables (including my mobile
phone and my wife’s handbag). I don’t know what would have happened if I
had followed them as they wanted: perhaps they would have killed me, and
had hesitated to do so in front of my family. But the attackers were
wearing masks so I couldn’t recognise them. That time it was not an
Interior Ministry vehicle. Representatives of the Ministry promised me
that they would carry out an enquiry to identify the assailants.
How has your everyday life been since those attacks? Do you intend to give
up the trade union struggle?
I live a normal life but am careful. I’m particularly careful when moving
around. Some people are sometimes afraid of becoming union leaders as they
are scared of being attacked by armed men. That fear haunts most
Palestinian union leaders, particularly since the recent attacks on my
home and the PGFTU office. But despite those attacks, the Palestinian
union movement is determined to defend the interests of workers in the
Palestinian territories. As far as I’m concerned, I am determined to carry
on the struggle. I would even say that these attacks make me more
determined to defend workers.
Why have you been singled out in these attacks, rather than the General
Secretary of the PGFTU?
It may be because I’m in Gaza, whilst the General Secretary lives in the
West Bank, in Nablus, a region that is still under Israeli occupation.
Gaza is run directly by the Palestinian Authority.
What is the membership of the PGFTU and how does the organisation help its
members in such a situation?
15 unions are affiliated to the PGFTU, which has an overall membership of
about 380,000, 10% of whom are women. 127,000 members live in Gaza, with
the others in the West Bank. One of the services we offer our members is a
health insurance that guarantees them free medical care. We also offer a
lot of training to our members, thanks to funding from international and
foreign trade union organisations (including some in Spain, Norway and
Sweden).
We also help Palestinian migrant workers exercise their rights in Israel:
since the sealing off of Gaza many of them are unable to recover their
wage arrears or money deducted for their social security by their former
Israeli employers. The legal department of the PGFTU is in contact with
Israeli lawyers and we send them all the documents they need to defend the
rights of the former migrants in Israeli courts. When they do recover
these arrears they subtract 10% for their fees and transfer the rest to
the PGFTU, which passes them on to the workers.
We are keeping an eye on internal democracy in the PGFTU: some members of
Hamas were elected in the last elections in our 15 federations, and we
have to be careful that they do not force Islamist tendencies on the
unions. There is a danger of amalgams, since under the last Labour
Ministry workers’ benefits were distributed via the mosques rather than
the PGFTU, which distributes benefits through its offices and without
distinguishing between the workers. The recently-formed Palestinian
government of national unity does provide us with some hope. It seems to
want to strengthen tripartite relations and to fight with us against
poverty and unemployment. This new government must ensure security and
stability for Palestinians, thereby bringing peace and reconciliation to
the region. And if peace comes, prosperity and progress will follow.
How can international workers’ solidarity help you?
We would like help with strengthening the trade union movement in
Palestine and also to repair our radio station. I would also like the ITUC
to help remove the boycott imposed on Palestinians by Israel and to play a
key role in the peace process in the region. Palestinians want peace and
the international trade union movement should cooperate with the national
unions to convince our governments to aim for peace and reconciliation. We
must put pressure on the government of Israel to open the country’s gates
to Palestinian workers and to help us build our economy. That will revive
the hopes of Palestinians and give them the courage to carry on, whilst
helping the Palestinian authorities to maintain stability in our society.
The blocking of the Palestinian territories has a very concrete impact on
trade union work then?
Yes indeed. There are 480 check points in the West Bank. The wall that
Israel built has confiscated a large part of the Palestinian land whilst
dividing families and aggravating mobility problems. I cannot even travel
to the West Bank for official reasons, such as meeting an international
delegation from the ILO. I have to go via Jordan to meet my General
Secretary in the West Bank. The Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank all
have problems contacting each other owing to the blockages and we have to
use the phone or faxes.
How high is unemployment in Palestine?
There are 400,000 unemployed Palestinians, i.e. 75 % of the work force.
Many Palestinian intellectuals and scientists have left Palestine owing to
the lack of work. This is having a very negative impact, not least in the
health sector. It is also a source of huge poverty, with roughly 80 % of
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank living below the poverty line. The
fact that many international NGOs have left Gaza has aggravated the
situation.
How are Palestinians surviving in this situation?
The majority are living off food aid from the United Nations. Many
families have sold their possessions, even wives’ jewellery, in order to
survive. Things are also very tough for government employees who have not
been paid for over a year.
Taken from International Trade Union Confederation website
Interview with Rasem Al Bayari, Palestinian trade unionist
tags: Middle East interviews Palestine PGFTU repression unions May 11th,
2007 by Ed
Being a trade unionist is a very dangerous business in Palestine.
Rasem Al Bayari, Deputy General Secretary of the PGFTU (Palestine General
Federation of Trade Unions), an ITUC affiliate, knows that well: following
the destruction of a PGFTU building in October 2006 and the firing of two
rockets at his home in January, on 6 April Rasem Al Bayari was injured by
masked men who attacked him while he was in a car with his family.
He describes these events and the enormous problems faced by workers in
Palestine.
Have you any idea who could have ordered these attacks?
The Palestinian authorities are to blame for the first and second attacks,
both the firing of rockets at my house and the attack on the PGFTU
building. Vehicles belonging to the Ministry of the Interior were used in
those attacks: any Palestinian can recognise them easily. We know that the
people who attacked the radio station work for the Interior Ministry.
PGFTU employees saw them and they painted messages on the walls of the
radio station after setting fire to it stating that “Hamas has been here”.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior admitted that the ministry
was responsible for those attacks. What is more, the Palestinian
authorities failed to condemn the violence against us and did not hold any
investigation.
Are such attacks frequent?
We are regularly shot at by the police when holding demonstrations in
support of workers’ rights. In October and November 2006, for instance, 13
workers were killed by police bullets at a demonstration calling for the
payment of wages and unemployment benefits. We also receive a lot of
threats, often by phone, and are warned that the government is going to
take some very severe measures against the unions and their buildings. We
have complained to the Ministry of the Interior about these threats,
asking them to identify the people making these phone calls, but the
ministry has done nothing.
Even the members of our journalists’ union who went on strike to support
the kidnapped BBC journalist, Alan Johnston, were attacked by the police,
but they have carried on fighting nonetheless. They erected tents near the
Legislative Council as a base for their protests against the abduction.
Why did they destroy the radio station?
It was a trade union radio station whose aim was to defend workers’ rights
and let them voice their opinions. The authorities were against the radio
station and said it “poisoned” the people. The station has now been
totally destroyed and the equipment was stolen by the attackers. There was
400,000 dollars’ worth of damage.
The main attack took place on 2 February 2007 at 5 am. Six workers were
present in the buildings at that time. The attack caused the workers to
panic and one of them jumped from the first floor and died later in
hospital. The others were arrested and then released.
What about the last attack against you personally, on 6 April?
I was driving around Gaza in a PGFTU vehicle with my wife, my children and
my mother. The assailants pointed guns at us, forced me to stop the car
and insisted that we get out of it and put our hands up. They then wanted
me to get back into it alone and to follow their car. As I refused to do
this they opened fire, aiming at the ground in front of me. Some broken
bullets and clods of earth injured my neck. My wife and children screamed.
Their cries, together with the gunshots, drew a lot of attention to what
was going on. The attackers then drove off with their car and the PGFTU
vehicle. The latter contained some of our valuables (including my mobile
phone and my wife’s handbag). I don’t know what would have happened if I
had followed them as they wanted: perhaps they would have killed me, and
had hesitated to do so in front of my family. But the attackers were
wearing masks so I couldn’t recognise them. That time it was not an
Interior Ministry vehicle. Representatives of the Ministry promised me
that they would carry out an enquiry to identify the assailants.
How has your everyday life been since those attacks? Do you intend to give
up the trade union struggle?
I live a normal life but am careful. I’m particularly careful when moving
around. Some people are sometimes afraid of becoming union leaders as they
are scared of being attacked by armed men. That fear haunts most
Palestinian union leaders, particularly since the recent attacks on my
home and the PGFTU office. But despite those attacks, the Palestinian
union movement is determined to defend the interests of workers in the
Palestinian territories. As far as I’m concerned, I am determined to carry
on the struggle. I would even say that these attacks make me more
determined to defend workers.
Why have you been singled out in these attacks, rather than the General
Secretary of the PGFTU?
It may be because I’m in Gaza, whilst the General Secretary lives in the
West Bank, in Nablus, a region that is still under Israeli occupation.
Gaza is run directly by the Palestinian Authority.
What is the membership of the PGFTU and how does the organisation help its
members in such a situation?
15 unions are affiliated to the PGFTU, which has an overall membership of
about 380,000, 10% of whom are women. 127,000 members live in Gaza, with
the others in the West Bank. One of the services we offer our members is a
health insurance that guarantees them free medical care. We also offer a
lot of training to our members, thanks to funding from international and
foreign trade union organisations (including some in Spain, Norway and
Sweden).
We also help Palestinian migrant workers exercise their rights in Israel:
since the sealing off of Gaza many of them are unable to recover their
wage arrears or money deducted for their social security by their former
Israeli employers. The legal department of the PGFTU is in contact with
Israeli lawyers and we send them all the documents they need to defend the
rights of the former migrants in Israeli courts. When they do recover
these arrears they subtract 10% for their fees and transfer the rest to
the PGFTU, which passes them on to the workers.
We are keeping an eye on internal democracy in the PGFTU: some members of
Hamas were elected in the last elections in our 15 federations, and we
have to be careful that they do not force Islamist tendencies on the
unions. There is a danger of amalgams, since under the last Labour
Ministry workers’ benefits were distributed via the mosques rather than
the PGFTU, which distributes benefits through its offices and without
distinguishing between the workers. The recently-formed Palestinian
government of national unity does provide us with some hope. It seems to
want to strengthen tripartite relations and to fight with us against
poverty and unemployment. This new government must ensure security and
stability for Palestinians, thereby bringing peace and reconciliation to
the region. And if peace comes, prosperity and progress will follow.
How can international workers’ solidarity help you?
We would like help with strengthening the trade union movement in
Palestine and also to repair our radio station. I would also like the ITUC
to help remove the boycott imposed on Palestinians by Israel and to play a
key role in the peace process in the region. Palestinians want peace and
the international trade union movement should cooperate with the national
unions to convince our governments to aim for peace and reconciliation. We
must put pressure on the government of Israel to open the country’s gates
to Palestinian workers and to help us build our economy. That will revive
the hopes of Palestinians and give them the courage to carry on, whilst
helping the Palestinian authorities to maintain stability in our society.
The blocking of the Palestinian territories has a very concrete impact on
trade union work then?
Yes indeed. There are 480 check points in the West Bank. The wall that
Israel built has confiscated a large part of the Palestinian land whilst
dividing families and aggravating mobility problems. I cannot even travel
to the West Bank for official reasons, such as meeting an international
delegation from the ILO. I have to go via Jordan to meet my General
Secretary in the West Bank. The Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank all
have problems contacting each other owing to the blockages and we have to
use the phone or faxes.
How high is unemployment in Palestine?
There are 400,000 unemployed Palestinians, i.e. 75 % of the work force.
Many Palestinian intellectuals and scientists have left Palestine owing to
the lack of work. This is having a very negative impact, not least in the
health sector. It is also a source of huge poverty, with roughly 80 % of
Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank living below the poverty line. The
fact that many international NGOs have left Gaza has aggravated the
situation.
How are Palestinians surviving in this situation?
The majority are living off food aid from the United Nations. Many
families have sold their possessions, even wives’ jewellery, in order to
survive. Things are also very tough for government employees who have not
been paid for over a year.
Taken from International Trade Union Confederation website