As trade unionists in Australia we believe in peace.
A central fissure in global conflict is in the division and occupation of Palestine. Until this issue is peacefully solved, indigenous peoples around the world, Arabs, Muslims and all those suffering under imperialism will identify with the Palestinians’ struggle. Israel and its USA backers thus provoke conflicts across the globe and within the Australian community.

As trade unionists in Australia we believe in justice.
Peace is unsustainable without justice. We stand firmly with the people and workers of Palestine in our support for justice for all the refugees, based on United Nations Resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), and in our recognition of the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees as guaranteed under United Nations Resolution 194 (1948). The refugees’ right of return to their homes has to be recognised as taking precedence over the right of Australian, European or American Jews to migrate to Israel.

As trade unionists in Australia we believe in equality.
We believe that Palestinian lives are as valuable as Australian or Israeli lives. We believe Palestinians are as entitled as Israelis to rights to:

  • life, peace and security
  • education, housing, health and social protection
  • employment and livelihoods
  • economy, trade, land, resources, airspace, communications, water and access to the sea
  • freedom of movement, travel, migration and family reunion
  • language, religion, identity, history and culture
  • national freedom and self-determination
  • democracy and human rights

We express our strong solidarity with our colleagues in the Palestinian trade union movement in their struggle to end the illegal Israeli military occupation and its discriminatory policies. We stand with the Palestinian workers who are citizens of Israel and who daily face systematic legal and social discrimination. We stand firmly with Palestinian workers of fighting against discriminatory policies and practices on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexuality, age, race, colour, nationality, descent, ethnic or religious background.

As trade unionists in Australia we believe in solidarity.
We stand firmly with the people and workers of Palestine, continuing in the best traditions of the Australian trade unions in supporting struggles for peace, justice and independence in Indonesia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Timor-Leste. We offer our warm solidarity to working people in Israel fighting against militarism, occupation and inequality. We stand firmly with the people and workers of Palestine in recognising the rights of indigenous peoples, acknowledging the wrongs of the past and supporting indigenous people’s struggles for self-determination and sovereignty.

As trade unionists in Australia we believe in action and organising.
We join the growing number of trade unions worldwide campaigning for peace with justice in Palestine, and here in Australia we express our unequivocal endorsement for the Palestinian trade union and Palestinian civil society calls for global Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, as a non-violent strategy of resisting an illegal military occupation, war crimes and apartheid policies.

As members of the Australian trade union movement, we urge the Australian Council of Trade Unions, as our representative peak body, to enact policies that respect the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, a viable and independent state, and an end to the illegal Israeli military occupation in accordance with United Nations resolutions and international law.

We will continue to support community mobilisations for peace in Palestine, and will educate union members and working people in Australia against racism against Arabs, Muslims, Jews and people of Middle Eastern background.

As members of the Australian trade union movement, we urge the Australian Government to heed its obligations under international law, and heed Australian public opinion, and end its partisan one-sided support for Israel. We call on the Australian government to cancel all contracts with Israeli firms to purchase or sell military equipment, and to clearly label all imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied territories of Golan Heights, West Bank, and East Jerusalem.

Affiliations to Our Statement

If you have read our statement and wish to support our call, please send us your NAME, UNION, STATE, EMAIL via the form below.  Your name/union/state details will be maintained privately as a supporter and an affiliate to Our Statement. Of course, we respect your privacy and we will not list your details publicly on this site. If you wish to remain anonymous on our affliates list, please note <ANON> after your details. Thank you for your solidarity.