WAC delegation meets leading Trade Unioninsts in its March 2007 visit to Britain

A delgation of 3 leading members of WAC visited Britain in March (between the 11th and 17th). The purpose of the visit was twofold:
To provide WAC with the opportunity of acquainting the British unions with their work organising workers, campaigning against the discrimination which Arab Israelis suffer in Israel, and against the closure which denies the right of Palestinians from the occupied territories to work in Israel.
To learn about the work of British unions and the struggles they are involved in.

To that end WAC delegation met with:

FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack and other national officers, including the union's international officer Dean Mills.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow, President John Leach and members of the Council of Executives.

The TUC's International Officer Owen Tudor.

The GMB's international officer Joni McDougall.

Officers from UNISON's international department, Nick Siegler and Nick Crook.

John McDonnell MP, secretary of a number of union Parliamentary Groups.

South West TUC Secretary Nigel Costley.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign's Trade Union Officer Bernard Regan.

In addition they visited Camden UNISON, the GMB's Swindon office to learn about the union's migrant worker organising, and were able to speak to Bristol TUC and a special meeting organised by Oxford TUC.

The RMT was good enough to provide accomodation in London for the delegation which comprised Assaf Adiv (National Coordinator), Khitam Na'amneh (Women's Organiser) and Roni Ben Efrat (International Relations).

The visit succeeded in making WAC's activities more widely known and opening up a dialogue with British unions, with a view to developing fraternal relations. In particular the meetings with the TUC and the national unions mean that WAC is recognised as a legitimate element in the equation of the Palestinian and Israeli workers movement.

A number of offers were made such as a two page spread in the RMT members' paper, RMT News, regular exchange of reports, which will be followed up.

Any trade union delegation visiting Israel and Palestine has an open invitation to meet with WAC.

For more information see Solidarity Blog http://solidaritymagazine.blogspot.com/

Listen to the talk given by Assaf Adiv on the role of WAC in the Israeli labour scene in the meeting with UNISON:
http://www.ourmedia.org/node/30207