Jerusalem: The Trade Unions Congress (TUC) delegates unanimously voted on Tuesday on resolutions in support of Palestinian rights. Delegates of the TUC, which represents 47 unions and around 5.5 million workers, adopted a set of resolutions urgently calling on the UK government to 'take meaningful action to secure an immediate, complete, and permanent ceasefire with full access for food and aid delivery into Gaza.'
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, they also called on the UK government to 'implement international court rulings and immediately recognise Palestine, contributing to a two-state solution.' They also urged the government to 'immediately end military collaboration and all licences for arms traded with Israel in line with international law.' Additionally, they demanded a 'total ban on all trade which aids or assists Israel's violations of international law including with Israel's illegal settlements.'
The delegates demanded that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer overturn the ban on Palestine Action. They specifically called on the UK government to 'repeal the authoritarian proscription of Palestine Action under counter-terrorism laws and uphold and strengthen the right to peaceful protest following the arrest of activists, including Ben Jamal, on peaceful Palestine Solidarity Campaign marches.'
Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) general secretary Fran Heathcote stated: 'The proscription of Palestine Action represents a significant abuse of counter-terrorism powers and is a direct attack on our rights to protest the genocidal Israeli regime.' Heathcote emphasized that 'Protest is not terrorism. Solidarity is not a crime. And silence in the face of injustice is not an option.' She affirmed that 'PCS stands firmly with those resisting oppression and we will continue to defend our members' rights, our democratic freedoms, and our moral duty to speak out against genocide and apartheid.'
The delegates also called on the UK government to 'recognise immediately the State of Palestine.' Highlighting Israel's actions in Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of 64,656 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 163,503 others, the TUC delegates criticized the British government for continuing to export weapons and military technology used by Israel, including parts for F-35 fighter jets. They stressed that 'Britain, as a party to the Genocide Convention, has obligations to prevent and punish genocide.'
They reiterated their call for unions across the world to 'escalate campaigns to end this shameful complicity in Israel's illegal occupation, colonial apartheid and genocide, through boycotts, divestment and sanctions.'