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Union Roundtable with Dr Ghassan Khatib

Special Envoy of President Mahmoud Abbas & Director of the Palestinian Government Media Centre

Tuesday 2 August 2011 | 11am-12pm
ACTU, Level 6, 365 Queen St, Melbourne VIC.
RSVP by COB Monday 1 August to Tel. 03 9664 7312

Dr Khatib will address the roundtable on the recognition of Palestinian statehood, with a discussion session to follow.

Background document by Dr Khatib -
Palestinian Statehood, the Two-State Solution and Peace.

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PGFTU speaking tour of Australia

5-14 May 2011 | Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Wollongong, Newcastle

AUSPalestine welcomes to Australia Ms Ghada Abu Ghalyoun, International Department, Palestine General Federation of Trade Union (PGFTU).

Ms Abu Ghalyoun is Coordinator of the International Department and Coordinator of the Youth Department (a project funded by the Canadian Labor Congress) of the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), based in their central office in Nablus in the West Bank. She is also an executive committee member of the Graphic Workers Union, and Deputy Secretary of the Women’s Department of PGFTU.  Ms Abu Ghalyoun is on a national speaking tour of Australia at the invitation of the Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine.

Friday 6 May | 6pm | Wollongong NSW
South Coast Labour Council May Day Toast

Monday 9 May | 3.30pm | Melbourne VIC
Union meeting, AMWU office, 1st floor, 251 Queensberry St, Carlton South.
Contact Mick 0425741961

Monday 9 May | 6.30pm | Geelong VIC
Geelong Trades Hall Council, 127 Myers St, Geelong
Tel. 03 5221 1712 or 0404 390137

Tuesday 10 May | 11am | Brisbane QLD
Queensland Council of Unions, Level 2 TLC Building, 16 Peel St, South Brisbane.

Wednesday 11 May | 6.30pm | Sydney NSW
Palestine Dinner hosted by Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA & Laurie Ferguson MP

Friday 13 May | 11am | Newcastle NSW
Newcastle Trades Hall Council, Suite 1, 1st floor Devonshire House, 406 King St, Newcastle West
Tel. 02 49291162

Saturday 14 May | 9am | Sydney NSW
“Temperatures Rising” Conference, University of Technology Sydney
Click here for conference details

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2012 Study Tour to the Middle East

Following a successful April 2011 study tour, interest continues to grow in the important issues of this region  | Register now!

APHEDA Study Tour participants with representatives from the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), 3 April 2011

Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA, the overseas humanitarian aid agency of the ACTU, which adheres to ACTU policy on Middle East, and which implements projects with AusAID and donated funds in the Occupied Territories and in Lebanon, ran three successful study tours in 2010 and 2011. A participant in the first tour, Sally McManus, Secretary, Australian Services Union NSW & ACT Services Branch, said “going on the recent Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA study tour to the region has driven home to me the daily sufferings of the Palestinian people – as workers, women, refugees, children, families and communities under occupation.”

Ask your union to send a delegate to the 2012 Study Tour to the Middle East. Visit Palestine, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan, travelling through such cites as Jerusalem, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Gaza, Hebron, Beirut and Tel Aviv.  The tour looks at Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA’s aid projects with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Palestine, while also offering the opportunity to meet with workers and trade unions in these countries.  Learn about the history and issues of the region in a unique on-the-ground experience.  Learn about the important humanitarian work that your union’s aid agency does with Palestinian families and communities. If you want a relaxed sight-seeing holiday, this study tour is not for you; if you are serious about understanding the situation of Palestinian workers, and believe that “peace is union business”, and you are prepared to report back to workers in Australia, then you should start planning.

Register now! www.apheda.org.au

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Australian Unionists to speak at National Conference on BDS in Australia

Australian National BDS Conference:
Building Solidarity, Combating Occupation & Apartheid

Melbourne | 29-31 October 2010

A number of Australian unionists have been selected to address an upcoming conference being held in Melbourne on the issue of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) in Australia.

• Kim Sattler – Secretary, Unions ACT
  Kim is a long-time unionist, who was active in the South African anti-apartheid campaign. Kim is currently the Secretary of Unions ACT in Canberra. Kim has recently returned from Palestine, where she participated in the Union Aid Abroad APHEDA Middle East Study Tour 2010.
• Kevin Bracken – Secretary, MUA Victorian Branch; President, Victorian Trades Hall Council
  Kevin is a long-time unionist and supporter of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, as well as other social justice issues. Kevin is currently the Secretary of the Victorian branch of the Maritime Union of Australia and the President of the Victorian Trades Hall Council.
• Ginny Adams – Organiser, Health & Community Services Union, Victoria
  Ginny is an organiser with the Health and Community Services Union. Ginny has been active in the Palestinian and refugee rights campaigns for more than 10 years. She recently returned from Palestine, where she participated in the Union Aid Abroad APHEDA Middle East Study Tour 2010.

If your union is attending the conference, please inform us here at AUSPalestine.   

Meeting firefighters in Palestine

In July 2010, Australian firefighter Stuart Holt, member of the NSW Fire Brigade Employees Union, enjoyed visiting the Nablus fire station and meeting with his Palestinian colleagues.  Stuart also met a Palestinian firey injured whilst fighting a fire in Gaza.

Stuart participated in the Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA Middle East Study Tour, and travelled to the Middle East to learn about APHEDA’s humanitarian aid projects with Palestinian communities in Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The study tour also visited with Palestinian and Israeli trade unions and workers’ organisations to learn about the situation for workers and unions in the region.  Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA is the humanitarian aid agency of the Australian trade union movement.

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