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Schedule of an International Delegation of Labor Unions
to visit Israel/Palestine, April 24 – May 1, 2007 The delegation will examine general trends in the Israeli labor market focusing on the agricultural sector. Meetings with experts, government officials, and labor activists, as well as field trips, will acquaint the delegation with the status of migrant workers, Palestinian workers and Arab female workers in this sector. In addition the delegation will have a chance to visit the West Bank and to meet with Palestinian Trade Unionists. Program (subject to minor changes) April 24 (Tuesday) Arrival in Tel Aviv. Evening orientation meeting in hotel.
April 25 (Wednesday)
1. Overview of the situation of the labor force in agriculture; the importation of workers from abroad and the consequent displacement of Palestinian workers – Assaf Adiv, Director of WAC-Ma’an 2. Israeli agriculture and the country’s Arab residents: a history of discrimination – Academic. 3. The destruction of the organized labor force in Israel – Professor Guy Mundlak. Evening dinner at a restaurant in Jaffa with the staff of WAC-Ma’an April 26 (Thursday) We focus on the Israeli agricultural branch and its workers. 1. Meeting with the assistant to the director of the planning board in the Ministry of Agriculture. 2. Field visit to farms; on-site meetings with Israeli farmers and their workers, accompanied by WAC's field organizers, Dani Ben Simhon and Khitam Na'amneh. 3. Visit to WAC’s center in Kufr Qara and meeting with agricultural workers organized by WAC. Dinner in Kufr Qara. April 27 (Friday) A visit to Jerusalem, with a guided tour of the separation barrier. Free time in the city. Evening in Jerusalem: lecture and discussion on the political situation after the Lebanon War; perspectives on a political resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Speakers: Roni Ben Efrat, Editor of Challenge Magazine; a Palestinian academic (yet to be determined) from East Jerusalem. Overnight at a Jerusalem hotel. April 28 (Saturday) Meetings in the West Bank with Palestinian trade unions. (Return to Tel Aviv for overnight.) April 29 (Sunday) 1. Meeting with the General Trade Union Federation - Histadrut 2. Meeting with Kav la’Oved and Hotline for Migrant Workers, two NGOs that lead in defense of the rights of foreign workers. We shall discuss Israel's policy of importing migrant workers, including a petition by Kav la’Oved to the Israeli High Court. The petition concerns Israel’s retreat from its obligation to put the importation of workers under the control of the IOM (International Organization for Migration). 3. A lecture on Arab women in the labor force by Michal Schwartz of WAC. 4. A meeting with women active in Sindyanna of Galilee, a fair-trade organization that markets products produced by Palestinians in Israel and the Palestinian Territories for export to Europe and North America. The products (such as olive oil, olive-oil soap, spices, and baskets) will be on display and for sale. April 30 (Monday) Meetings in Jerusalem with governmental ministries and Knesset committees: 1. Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Labor. The meeting will be with officials who specialize in issues concerning employment and vocational training. 2. Department on International Conventions in the Foreign Ministry - responsible for contacts with the IOM. 3. We meet the head of the Special Knesset Committee on Migrant Workers. 4. Ministry of Finance. A meeting on Israel’s policy of labor importation, viewed within the overall economic picture. On the evening of May Day, we will take part in a panel discussion on the ways to advance the organizing of the unorganized. Participants in the discussion will include representatives of workers committees, social organizations and academics. The delegation members will be asked to talk about their experiences in organizing temporary, migrant, and minority workers. May 1 (Monday)
Morning. We shall attempt to crystallize points on which the delegation members agree, seeking paths for future action.
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