48 search results for "cosatu"

South Africa: COSATU reaffirms support for BDS on Nakba Day

By admin

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Congress of South African Trade Unions has chosen to reaffirm its solidarity with the Palestinian cause using the excuse of ‘al-Nakba Day’.  They translate that as ‘the day of the catastrophe” and by ‘catastrophe’ they mean the birth of the state of Israel. There is little new in… »

South Africa: Unions defend disruption of concert at which an Israeli “publicly-admitted Zionist” performed

By admin

The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg has found itself in the center of a dispute involving Israelis, Palestinians — and now, the trade unions. An Israeli pianist, Yossi Reshef, was giving a piano concert at the university on 12 March when the performance was disrupted by anti-Israel protestors.  The performance, which had been… »

South Africa: Violence erupts at Israel Independence Day celebrations in Johannesburg as unions denounce “Jewish lobby”

By admin

In yet another example of deteriorating relations between some South African trade unions and the local Jewish community, a major rift has broken out over a protest that took place at a celebration of Israeli Independence Day in Johannesburg. According to a union press release entitled “COSATU condemns Zionist brutality against pro-Palestinian protesters“: “During this protest,… »

South Africa: COSATU’s double standard on deaths in police custody

By admin

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), a long-time supporter of the Palestinian cause, has issued a very strong statement whose headline belies its content. The headline reads “COSATU calls for an international investigation into the death of Arafat Jaradat in the hands of Israeli security forces” which, on the face of it, doesn’t… »

Public Services International supports BDS, apartheid slander on Israel

By ericlee

Public Services International (PSI) is a global trade union federation representing 20 million public sector workers in 150 countries. Its world congress concluded three days ago in Durban, South Africa. Though a search of the PSI website and its special congress site shows nothing about this, there are reports all over the web celebrating the… »

COSATU’s Masuku: Discussion of miners’ massacre “diverts attention” from Israeli policies

By ericlee

On the very day that South African police opened fire and killed dozens of striking mine workers, the country’s national trade union centre, COSATU, issued two statements (here and here) condemning … Israel. Irish trade unionist Tom Carew wrote to COSATU saying: “I was a committed member of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and all my life… »

Gewerkschaften weltweit beglückwünschen Sieg der Histadrut nach Generalstreik

By daniel

Von ericlee (übersetzt von Daniel Freund) Dem Pro-Hamas-Flügel der internationalen Arbeiterbewegung wird das nicht gefallen. Der Generalstreik der Histadrut und die Zugeständnisse, die sie der israelischen Regierung abgerungen hat, bringen ihr Auszeichnungen der ganzen internationalen Arbeiterbewegung ein. Dies geschieht trotz der Entscheidung einer Reihe von Gewerkschaften – darunter die britische TUC und Südafrikas COSATU -, die… »

Global unions hail Histadrut victory following general strike

By ericlee

The pro-Hamas wing of the international labour movement is not going to like this one bit. The Histadrut’s general strike and the concessions it wrung from the Israeli government have won it accolades from across the international labour movement. This is in spite of the decision by a number of unions – including Britain’s TUC… »

South Africa: Unions welcome holding of anti-Israel “tribunal” in Cape Town

By ericlee

The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) has warmly welcomed the holding of the third Russell Tribunal on Palestine (RToP) this coming weekend in Cape Town. In a statement issued three days ago, the union wrote: “It is quite befitting for our democracy to host such an important international political event. The struggle… »

COSATU calls for military embargo on Israel – and says not a word about Syria

By ericlee

On Friday, the Congress of South African Trade Unions issued yet another anti-Israel statement — this time focussing on the need for a “military embargo” on the Jewish state.  The statement accuses Israel of both war crimes and crimes against humanity, and compares it to the apartheid regime in South Africa.  It says nothing about… »