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Unifor Secretary-Treasurer Peter Kennedy was part of a recent delegation to Israel and Palestine to give support and assistance to Palestinian truck drivers who are often delayed for several hours at the Irtah crossing between Palestine and Israel due to the Israeli occupation.
“They could be held up for one hour, two hours, eight hours, only to be told to come back the next day,” Kennedy said. “It’s all arbitrary.”
Kennedy, who visited the crossing as part of an International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) delegation last month, said the only shade at the crossing, where temperatures often reach into the mid-thirties Celsius, comes from a small cafeteria at the site that Unifor helps to support.
While Israeli truckers can cross the border, Palestinian truckers cannot, and must wait to move their loads to trucks across the border crossing. The cafeteria, which Unifor has supported through the Social Justice Fund since 2010, is meant to provide some comfort while they wait.
“It has a direct impact on their lives,” said Kennedy, the only Canadian on the delegation. “It was very moving to see how much it meant to them.”
Following the visit, Unifor and the ITF committed to expanding the cafeteria, which serves between 200 and 300 drivers each day.
As well, Unifor and the ITF will work with local unions to increase the amount of cargo shifted to Palestinian-driven trucks to 50 per cent (now at 30 per cent), and to organize a young workers delegation to the area. Kennedy noted that half the population in Palestine is under 25.
