A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

The New Independent Palestinian Labor Coalition – Five Executive Committee Members

Sahar Arrar is a 49-year-old mother of five. Her husband died eleven years ago.

“I got involved in the union through the working women’s society. We had a conference and conducted democratic elections and I was elected as the head of the kindergarten union in Ramallah district,” Arrar recalled smiling.

When asked about her motivation for doing union work, she responded: “My love for children inspires me and I don’t want to feel alone in the future. When my children leave I don’t want to be alone in the house. I want to feel that I am involved in something important.”

After 27 years out of school, Arrar recently returned to finish her studies. She completed her Toujiki exam and graduated from high school at the same time as her son. She’s active in many community organizations including the Karara Benizet charitable society.

In her role as an executive committee member in the coalition, Arrar hopes to defend the rights of all workers as well as improve conditions for kindergarten teachers.

“I am very happy today. I was praying to succeed [in the elections], and I did,” she exclaimed.

Hanen Bannourah is President of the Employee Family Hospital Worker’s Committee in Bethlehem and has been active in the union movement since 1980 when she help found the committee.

“We felt that we didn’t have the rights and justice in the working conditions in the hospital so we felt we needed someone to talk in our name with the board of the hospital,” she noted.

Bannourah says that being a woman has not negatively affected her ability to become a leader in her worker’s committee because most of the members are women and the men respect her experience.

“Usually in our society they feel that is the right of the men to participate in union activities. Slowly they are accepting women in the trade union  movement now,” Bannorah commented.  “I am so glad that it is not that it’s not quota [for women leaders in the coalition]. [The coalition] didn’t elect us because we are women but because we are good representatives and we defend their rights.”

Bannourah expressed her excitement for the new coalition: “It’s a big dream that we could establish this coalition and I hope that we will succeed in our target and hopes to start the democratic movement of trade unions in Palestine.”

Nabil Jinawi was elected to the executive committee on Saturday, and is the President of the national Communication and Information Technology Workers’ Union.

He lives in Nablus with his wife and six children. His oldest daughter works for the same company.

“We created the union in 1997 to protect workers in the workplace, to obtain benefits and to get job security and protection,” Jinawi reflected.

Jinawi admitted that he has high expectations for the new coalition: “I hope that this coalition won’t be like other coalitions and that it will be active toward serving the workers in all the sectors that it represents. I hope that we will work toward democratic standards and on national legislation to improve the lives of workers.”

Abdel Hakim is President of the National Financial Sector Union. Hakim spoke on behalf of the coalition at the founding conference opening ceremony and was elected as an executive committee member.

Hakim became involved in union work through his political activism.

“Usually the political person likes to improve his nation. As unionists we seek to develop our nation by improving conditions for workers,” explained Hakim.

He regrets that the existing labor federations represent political factions rather than the will of the Palestinian workers. Politically controlled federations have ignored important issues like labor laws, unemployment benefits and the right to join labor unions. In Hakim’s view, it’s essential to have politically independent unions in order fight for the rights Palestinian workers.

“We don’t say that every president of a union doesn’t have political thought, they do. But the main focus of the union has to be the workers. It has to be involved in the people it represents and has to organize to strengthen the civil society,” Hakim clarified.

He continued: “If civil society was strong, we would have stood up and stopped the violence between Fatah and Hamas. Because unions are connected to political parties, they stood on one side or another instead of fighting for workers’ rights. Having politically independent union coalitions strengthens civil society and stops political killing.”

Hakim hopes that the new coalition will work to promote democracy and independence.

Khulod Asmar is a representative of the Telecommunication Union. She became involved in her union after working eight years in the company. He coworkers encouraged her to run for office of her reputation for being fair-minded.

“I found some actions of the company not to be fair and I did not agree with how they were treating workers, so I agreed to become a member of the executive committee of my union,” Asmar said.

Explaining her experience as a woman in the union movement, Asmar noted: “As women we think differently from the men. I think women’s vision is clearer than men. I know my aim and I go for it.”

Asmar explains that without a clear aim and vision, the coalition cannot develop and effective action plan. She hopes that the coalition will work to support the rights of all workers in Palestine.