Australian Unions on The War on Gaza

[Update (November 8, 2023) : A community picket @ Webb Dock in Port Melbourne (see below) succeeded in preventing trucks loading the Zim vessel and it’s been forced to re-join the queue and to try again (perhaps days) later.]

I don’t have much to add but, nonetheless, I thought it might be interesting to examine how Australian trade unions have responded to the war on Gaza.

To date, a month after the attack by Hamas and the beginnings of the IDF response, several statements have been made, both by union and related bodies:

• Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA Statement on the humanitarian crisis in Palestine (October 16)
• NSW Teachers Federation Executive Statement on Middle East Conflict (October 17)
• NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association Statement on the Middle East conflict (October 19)
• RTBU Statement regarding Israel-Hamas conflict (October 19)
• NTEU Statement on Israel and Palestine (October 20)
• ASU (NSW & ACT) Australian Unions call for peace (October 21)
• ACTU calls for an urgent ceasefire in Israel and Palestine (October 23)
• AEU (Federal) AEU Statement on the conflict in Israel and Palestine (October 24)
• Executive of the Queensland/Northern Territory Branch of the Electrical Trades Union (October 26)
• ASU (VIC Private) Australian Unions call for peace (October 27)
• IEU VIC & TAS Statement on Israel and Palestine (October 30)
• MEAA statement on Israel and Palestine crisis (November 6)
• Statement of solidarity with Palestine from academics in Australian universities (Overland, November 6)
• Unions Tasmania Statement on the Gaza Conflict (November 6)

I’ll add more as I discover them (on Twitter, Sarah Missen is keeping track).

In other news:

• TARGETING PALESTINE: Australia’s secret support for the Israeli assault on Gaza, through Pine Gap., Peter Cronau, Declassified Australia, November 3
• Palestinian human rights organisations launch court action to reveal ‘secret’ arms exports from Australia to Israel, Australian Centre for International Justice (November 6)

Finally, tomorrow in Naarm/Melbourne (November 8) and on Gadigal land in Sydney (November 11), actions have been organised in response to the docking of a boat belonging to the Zim shipping line. According to Jim McIlroy (Unionists for Palestine get organised, endorse call to boycott ZIM, Green Left, November 6): ‘The international effort is called #BlockTheBoat. ZIM, the Israeli shipping line, in the development of the Israeli war machine has been relentless. It is a major transporter of weapons of mass destruction.’

See also : “Unions [in so-called Australia]: Stop Arming Israel” (October 27, 2023) /// Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) /// Free Palestine Melbourne /// Palestine Justice Movement Sydney /// Stand With Palestine /// Unionists for Palestine /// Workers in Palestine.