Civil servants have a right to oppose apartheid and genocide in Gaza
PCS members’ “humanity is screaming” at the outrages being perpetrated on a daily basis by apartheid Israel in Gaza, delegates at ADC in Brighton have been told, and have a right to oppose and protest against them.
Angela Grant, moving motion A99 on behalf of the national executive committee stated “what is happening in Gaza is not a war. Palestine has no army, no navy, no air force. It is and onslaught on the Palestinian people.” She also highlighted that since 2015, the UK has sold almost £0.5 billion in military equipment to Israel; equipment that is currently being used in Gaza and the West Bank.
Given that the ICC has found a plausible case of genocide against Israel, the continuation of arms and other military exports places our members in several government departments in a precarious legal position.
Speaker after speaker recanted the horrific atrocities being carried out in Gaza. One speaker stated that “Even if we accept that Israel has a right to self-defence, that self-defence does not include the naked persecution of Palestinian children.”
Angela stated that civil servants have the right to a private life, and the right to a trade union life, and that PCS stands squarely behind the Palestinian people; no civil servant or PCS activist should be harassed or investigated by management for standing against genocide.
The motion was overwhelmingly supported by ADC instructs the NEC to pressure the Israeli government and its allies for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, end the Gaza aid blockade, and ensure adherence to the ICJ ruling, publish guidance on members' rights to attend protests and express political opinions, seek a formal agreement from the Cabinet Office on civil servants' rights to protest, and continue to advocate for a free and independent Palestinian state.