WAC MAAN marks International Labor Day 2019
Saturday May 4, at 10:30 a.m.
Al Fasaeil Public Park – Near Jericho, West Bank (on road 90)
Event webpage:
WAC MAAN, together with the Sindyanna of Galilee fair trade organization, marks International Labor Day with a day of activities for workers’ rights solidarity and fighting for the environment.
The event, to be held in an open park in Al Fasaeil north of Jericho in the West Bank, is an extraordinary opportunity for a meeting between worker committees and environmental activists, Israelis and Palestinians supporting both workers’ rights and protecting the planet.
WAC MAAN, an independent trade union center in Israel took upon itself to cross the border and organize Palestinian workers who work for Israeli firms in the occupied West Bank Settlements. In recent years, this organizing drive opened new perspective for Palestinian workers who are now able to receive their full rights at work.
WAC MAAN and Sindyanna of Galilee have adopted a green agenda based on a shared economy driven by social justice. We join the fight against the dangers of climate change to let governments and the economic elite understand that we have no time to waste in the transformation of the world to renewable energies.
We also see the rapid changes that relate to the development of the internet, online platforms, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence and robotics – all these are likely to replace the old professions and transform the labor market at an accelerating pace. Around the world, labor organizations and civil society organizations must address the implications of this inevitable change, and prepare their members accordingly.
Program for the day:
Representatives of WAC MAAN, Sindyanna of Galilee and other organizations will talk about their attempts to build cross-border movements and frameworks, and the close relationship between worker struggles and protecting the environment.
There will also be workshops led by experts and leaders of struggles on environmental issues:
- Siharab Massarwa, environmental activist, will offer a workshop on hydroponic agriculture and her experience of working with women.
- Mor Gilboa, head of Israeli environmental group Green Course, will offer a workshop on climate change and the threats facing the planet.
- Hannan Manadra Zoabi, manager of Sindyanna’s visitors’ center, will lead a workshop with a representative of the Bethlehem Fair Trade Association.
- Attys. Mu’in Ouda and Faten Ouda from Kafr Aqab will lead a workshop on the struggle against the neglect and environmental degradation of Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.
- Muhammad Al-Helu, manager of the firm Al-Sun, will offer a workshop on solar energy and its importance to the development of the Palestinian economy.
For further details: Jerusalem: 050-7596492 (Erez) \ The Wadi Ara region: 050-4330036 (Wafa) \ Tel Aviv: 050-4330038 (Roni) \ Haifa: 050-4330067 (Michal) \ Nazareth and the north: 050-4009455 (Hannan)
