The documentary Seeds of Peace tells the untold story of Palestinian workers who are employed by Israeli employers in the Settlement Industrial Zones of the Israeli occupies West Bank. It is a must-see for anyone who is interested in the Palestinian question and the struggle of workers to achieve their rights.
By Jodi Rudoren – The New York Times
Israeli industries operating in settlements that most of the world considers illegal and a prime obstacle to peace have become a focus of global attention amid growing momentum for a boycott movement.
Some 30,000 Palestinian workers are employed by Israelis in Area C. Most of them suffer from exploitation and lack of basic rights.
In what can be seen as an important initial gain for Palestinian workers working in the Settlements and the independent Union Centre WAC MAAN, it was agreed today to start negotiations in the Zarfati Garage in Mishor Adumim and so the planned strike was canceled.
Workers at the Zarfati Garage, residents of the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, joined The Independent Trade Union Centre MAAN (known formally in English as WAC) and began organizing to put an end to decades of exploitation.
Following the workers at the Salit Quarry and Levi Metal & Wood, a third group of Palestinians employed by Israeli companies in the occupied West Bank is organizing with the Independent Trade Union Centre WAC-MAAN.
The workers, some of whom have been employed at the factory for over ten years, do not receive pay slips or social benefits such as paid public holidays, pension, vacation, days of sick leave, etc. Furthermore, if they have no pay slips they do not have any evidence of their work for purposes of compensation in case of a work accident or tenure calculations if being dismissed.
The following report was issued on July 17, 2012 to the Employment Bureau (EB) director, Mr. Boaz Hirsh, regarding the East Jerusalem Employment Service offices. This report was compiled by Erez Wagner, Dima Darawshe and attorney Aya Bartenstein and relates to the severely degrading conditions of the EB in East Jerusalem. See also – Haaretz on WAC’s report.
Following a prolonged struggle and a three-month-long strike during the last summer the Salit quarry was declared bankrupt and placed in the head of the receivers. On 12 December 2011 the Jerusalem District court gave its imprimatur to a creditors’ arrangement for the quarry. The settlement ensured financial compensation to the employees but enabled the construction companies to take over the quarry without any commitment to employ the workers. Notwithstanding the Israeli institutional indifference to the fate of the Palestinian workers, the Salit employees and the Workers Advice Center (WAC-MAAN) succeeded in demonstrating the power of cross-border solidarity. There are some important lessons embedded in this historical and ongoing struggle.
After a strike lasting almost three months, Salit Quarries has ceased operations. The Jerusalem Regional Court has appointed a trustee to manage the quarry for the time being. The quarry owners, who tried to break the strike by every possible means and compel them to continue their work under humiliating conditions, declared that they are facing bankruptcy. The workers, and the Workers Advice Center (WAC-Maan) which represented them, see the end of this stage of the hard struggle in a positive light, and are preparing for the next stage: the struggle to protect the workers’ rights, whether by compensation for dismissal or by employment with the potential new owners. During the period of the strike, WAC-Maan managed to raise a strike fund which granted each worker NIS 1,850.
