PCS reaffirms solidarity to Palestinian people and condemns Israel

In opening a debate covering two motions on Palestine and Israel (A28 and A29) – which were both overwhelmingly carried – the hall was brought to a stunned silence by the powerful and emotional speech of R&C Bristol and Reading member Sasha, as she described the “apocalyptic” scenes in Gaza and urged delegates to go beyond sympathy to show active solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Quoting from the testimony of a doctor in Gaza she said bodies were left to be devoured by stray dogs “as if they were never human”: “Our hearts are shattered beyond repair… We are being erased, not just from land but from memory.”

“This is genocide,” she said, in moving motion A28. “When the General Federation of Trade Unions in Gaza wrote to PCS from under bombardment, they didn't just thank us [for our work to date]. They called on us [to take more action], and we must answer. This motion commits us to stand firm, to stand proud and to stand on the right side of history.

“There is no neutral ground. We are either complicit or we are in resistance.”

She said that despite brave refusals from PCS members, British civil servants are being forced to manage arms deals and security contracts for Israel’s genocide, and called for “real sanctions”, not “symbolic delays”.

Echoing an instruction in the motion, she said the union “must inform our members of their rights and protect them from being dragged into complicity against their will.”

Condemning the UK government for its “smoke and mirrors” she said: “We want Israel isolated, diplomatically, economically and culturally just as we did with South African apartheid.”

Sasha said she had spent most of her two-year-old son’s life watching Gazan people screaming into their phone cameras, begging for help. “And when he looks back at this moment, if he is even a fraction of the person that I hope he becomes, he will ask, ‘who stood up’?” “I want to say that at PCS did, that we heard the calls in Gaza, and we answered.”

Delegates responded to her contribution with a standing ovation. 

Immediate and permanent ceasefire

Motion A29 agreed that PCS would call on the government to work towards an immediate and permanent ceasefire by imposing a full arms embargo and banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements and all other trade that aids or assists Israel’s violations of international law.

It also agreed to call on the UK Government to recognise Palestine as a sovereign, independent state with immediate effect.

Moving the motion for Dumfries and Galloway DWP branch, Lee said although PCS “continues to be at the forefront of the campaign to end the genocide”, his branch believed more action could be taken as a union. 

The motion spelled out the catastrophic scale of death, destruction and displacement caused by the Israeli assault on Gaza and noted that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for senior Israeli leaders, including Benyamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, for crimes against humanity and war crimes. It said the government should execute the warrants if they enter UK territory, under its obligations as a state party to the Rome Statute.

PCS also committed to fully back any member facing disciplinary action for refusing to action or work on any arms export licence to Israel.

The union’s commitment to the principles of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement was also reaffirmed via the motions. 

Right side of history

A28 welcomed the work of our general secretary and her team in ensuring PCS is on “the right side of history and stands with Palestine”. It also congratulated members and reps in the Department for Business and Trade who have been at the forefront of hearing the Gazan unions’ call for solidarity.

It agreed to instruct the NEC to work with leading civil service reps to pursue all avenues for potential legal action against the government in respect of all engagement with apartheid Israel in order to support Palestinians but also protect our members from legal risk; and to engage with sister unions representing arms manufacturers.

Numerous members spoke in the debates, including Mairtin from DWP Glasgow who said of Israel: “Bullies do not have the right to self defence. Bullies should be treated as bullies and dealt with.”

“What we need is action, for us not to be complicit, for us not to be silent,” said Yemisi from DWP HQ.

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