Chronicle of a death foretold: After 17 years as a general worker at the Overseas Commerce container terminal in Haifa, Dr. Valery Bundrenko was killed in an appalling accident on Oct. 9, 2011, when a container crushed him to death. Truck drivers and workers at the terminal report a high number of accidents which only by a miracle did not claim the lives of workers.
The two independent trade unions in Israel – WAC-MAAN and Power to The Workers – will hold a solidarity demonstration in Tel Aviv to support the Egyptian workers and people struggle on February 8
Egypt is going through historical moments… Its people is courageously struggling to defend the right to live a decent life… the right to dignity, freedom and social justice… to decent opportunities and just pay… to a democratic society for all, offering every single citizen a share in its wealth and GNP… a society that does not allow few to buy private jets whereas the rest of the population cannot even afford public transportation… a society that refuses to pay the top of the pyramid salaries higher thousand of time than minimum wage.
In debates on the employment of migrant labor (“foreign workers”) and Israelis in agriculture, one claim is heard repeatedly: Israelis are unable to compete with the amazing capabilities of the Thais to work long hours under the hot sun. A document released by the Knesset’s Information and Research Center offers a worrying explanation.
The agreement's main achievement was moving the teachers from a system of 8 months employment as contractors to 12 months employment with full social benefits
A collective agreement between WAC and Musrara Art School was
In 1998 the Workers Advice Center took its first steps at a small office in Nazareth. Since then, WAC (MAAN in Arabic and Hebrew) has opened branches in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Kufr Manda, Kufr Qara, Baqa al-Gharbiyeh and is preparing to open a new branch in Haifa. This growth has been matched by an increase in activities. Over the years, WAC has assisted thousands of workers – men, women and youth, Arab and Jewish – and led campaigns in various fields: a long-standing struggle for the Arab unemployed; fair employment terms for Arabs in construction and agriculture; a campaign against privatization of the employment services (the “Wisconsin” program); and assistance to the victims of this program. With "Video 48," we have produced documentaries about these struggles. We have gained experience in addressing individual and collective cases, negotiating with employers and appealing to labor courts. We reached an excellent pension agreement for our members with one of the leading insurance companies in Israel. At first we concentrated on Arab workers, who are the weakest link in the Israeli labor market. In recent years we have expanded to organize Jewish workers as well. Our leading activists and spokespersons are both Arab and Jewish. We have organized quarries and lecturers, and we are currently organizing truck drivers. We are, in short, a workers movement for all.
