08) QUEBEC UNION BACKS BDS CAMPAIGN

PV Montreal Bureau

            A major Quebec trade union has come fully on board with the international Palestine solidarity campaign known as Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions or BDS. The decision took place in April at a delegate meeting of the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN) which represents some 325,000 workers in all sectors across Quebec.

            Announcing the decision, the CSN noted the 2005 and 2014 calls of Palestinian unions to support the BDS campaign and pressure Israel to respect international law, end the military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, respect the rights of Palestinian refugees, and stop racial discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel.

            The CSN’s decision brings the Quebec organizations of the Coalition BDS-Québec up to twenty-six. Frequent visible and noisy protests forced the Israeli consulate to relocate out of downtown Montreal and into neighbouring Westmount a few years ago. Likewise, consistent weekly picketing recently helped close the local NAOT store, exclusively selling Israeli shoes produced in a West Bank sweat-shop.

            “For the CSN, the BDS campaign must be particularly active in Canada and Quebec because of the depth of the ties that weave the Harper government with that of Israel,” their statement said.

            “In recent years, the unconditional support given by the Conservatives to Israel and its apartheid policies is outrageous,” said CSN vice-president Jean Lacharité.

            Meanwhile, a human rights report has again condemned the exploitation of Palestinian child labour in  the Israeli settlements.

            The report by Human Rights Watch documents that children as young as 11 earn less than US$20 for a full day in conditions that can be hazardous due to pesticides, dangerous equipment, and extreme heat. The report says the children working on Israeli settlements pick, clean, and pack asparagus, tomatoes, eggplants, sweet peppers, onions, and dates, among other crops.

            The child workers begin as early as 5:30 or 6 a.m. and usually work around 8 hours a day, six or seven days a week, often without breaks. They described vomiting, dizziness, and skin rashes after spraying pesticides with little protection, and experienced body pain or numbness from carrying heavy pesticide containers on their back as well as other injuries. Temperatures in the fields often exceed 40 degrees in summer.

            BDS is calling for three main demands: stopping all imports of Israeli goods or export goods, cultural or academic activities or productions in Israel; removing investments in Israeli bonds and companies and banks; and supporting the call by Palestinian groups for a military embargo against Israel.

            The first labour conference on BDS was held in Ramallah four years ago. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers, CUPE Ontario, as well as the British union Unite and the Congress of South African Trade Unions all support BDS.

(The above article is from the May 16-31, 2015, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)