Dear Friends,
It is my pleasure to send you the Histadrut's Press Release [below] regarding the historical agreement between the Histadrut and PGFTU.
ITUC had issued its own Press Release which is appearing now at the first page of its website.
I would like to seize this opportunity to thank you for the enormous efforts you have made throughout the years in order to assist the Histadrut.
I truly hope that our historical agreement with the PGFTU will assist us in promoting the peace process in our region it will herald the beginning of a new era of cooperation and partnership between our organizations.
For any further information and/or requests, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Best regards. Avital
Avital Shapira-Shabirow Director of International Relations International Department Histadrut
Tel: +972 3 6921511 Fax: +972 3 6921512 Mobile: +972 50 7951801 E-mail: avitals@histadrut.org.il ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HISTADRUT - General Federation of Labour in Israel
August 6, 2008
Under the auspices of Guy Ryder the General Secretary of ITUC, PGFTU and Histadrut reached an agreement
Under the auspices of Guy Ryder, the General Secretary of ITUC, the PGFTU and the Histadrut reached and signed a new agreement thus ending the disagreements between them. This agreement outlines a new undertaking by the Histadrut to provide legal services to Palestinian workers who had received permission to work for Israeli employers.
Such legal aid will assist Palestinians to protect and preserve the rights of the Palestinian Workers in the field of labor relations and shall provide the Palestinian Workers with trade union services and taxes which were collected from the Palestinian workers by the Histadrut.
The agreement was reached after a series of lengthy and difficult meetings that took place between the PGFTU and Histadrut leaderships. The final meetings were attended by Shaher Sae'd, the General Secretary of PGFTU, and Ofer Eini, the Chairman of Histadrut, in the presence of Guy Ryder, the General Secretary of ITUC.
After these meetings, the two parties settled all remaining financial issues between them. These included: the financial obligations that the Histadrut will pay to the PGFTU and the two sides also agreed upon the amounts that already had been paid. In addition, the Histadrut committed itself to assist Palestinian workers who had worked for Israeli employers, to provide them with legal help, and to improve their working conditions.
The new agreement also encourages organizing educational and vocational training courses and workshops, particularly in the areas of workers' rights and health and safety and with the assistance of ITUC, its affiliated throughout the world and other international organizations. The agreement states that the General Secretary of ITUC is considered an arbitrator by both sides to settle all problems concerning this agreement. A liaison committee from both sides was appointed to follow up on any further difficulties, and to work together to arrive at a solution.
This agreement was reached after many years of the previous agreement being frozen mainly due to difficult political conditions. However, due to extensive efforts by many officials in the International Federations, the agreement was achieved. It will enable Palestinian workers to reap the benefits of solidarity that are clearly evident around the world. The agreement will defend the rights of the Palestinian workers; it will also protect their freedoms and rights for decent work, and will lead to an improvement in their day to day lives. Furthermore, it will promote the rights of Israeli and Palestinian workers and pensioners and will advance fraternity and coexistence between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples and pave the way for continuous cooperation supported by ITUC.
For further information, please contact:
Avital Shapira-Shabirow Director of International Relations +972 3 6921511 +972 50 7951801