People & Partners

HISTADRUT

Histadrut or the General Organisation of Workers in Israel is Israels national trade union centre, representing the majority of trade unionists in the State of Israel. With its 700,000 members, it accounts for five-sixths of Israels unionised population. The Histadrut Leumi is a distant second with 100,000 members, followed by two newer union groups, Koach L’Ovdim (Power to the Workers) with a membership of 35,000 and WAC-MAAN with a membership of 2500.

Established in December 1920 in Mandatory Palestine, the Histadrut soon became one of the most powerful institutions in pre-state Israel.

The Histadrut is an affiliate of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and is an active participant in the ITUC Asia Pacific Regional Organisation ((ITUC – AP). Prior to establishment of the ITUC in 2006, the Histadrut was a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).

Israeli and Australian unions are involved in the global union framework.

In 2012, the OECD estimated that Israel had trade union density of 23%, compared to Australia at 18.2%. In 2016, OECD data specified Australia had a trade union density of 14.5%.

YOUNG LABOR

AILD is working to establish a dialogue between Young Labor in Israel and Australian Young Labor.

LGBTIQ

AILD has a working group which is building links between LGBTIQ activists in Israel and Australia given there is an active LGBTIQ circle within the Israeli Labor Party and there are active Rainbow Labor groups in many of the Australian states and territories.

Steve Staikos, Jack Whitney and Jordan Mumford, are members of the AILD LGBTIQ working group.

BITUD

Each year, Australia Israel Labor Dialogue conducts a mission to Israel and Palestine for trade union leaders. These missions are conducted jointly with Britain Israel Trade Union Dialogue (BITUD), an organisation that promotes a dialogue between British, Israeli and Palestinian trade unionists.

Australia Israel Labor Dialogue and Britain Israel Trade Union Dialogue have been organising joint missions since 2010.

Labour Friends of Israel

Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is an British organisation that works closely with members of the Labour Party, trade unions and other progressive groups to strengthen political and cultural ties between the the United Kingdom and Israel.

LFI promotes a negotiated two-state solution for two peoples with the State of Israel living behind safe, secure and recognised borders alongside a democratic and independent Palestinian state.