| Another question posed
by the pole was “Is the Israeli government committed to
peace with the Palestinians?” In December of 2007, 66% of
respondents said that the government, then led by Ehud Olmert,
was committed to peace with the Palestinians. In June of 2009,
a month after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White
House, only 46% of Americans said they believed the Netanyahu
government was committed to peace.
In the months of May and June, there appeared to be a positive
change in American public opinion on the matter, with 53% of respondents
saying they believe Netanyahu seeks peace. However, in July, only
45% of American said they felt Netanyahu was committed to the
peace process. 39%responded that Netanyahu and his administration
are not committed to seeking peace with the Palestinians.
Greenberg has analyzed the poll results and says that the section
of the American public where Israel is most rapidly losing support
is among Liberal Americans who align themselves with the Democratic
Party.
Greenberg’s data showed similar findings among public opinion
in Germany and Sweden. Only 19% of German respondents said they
felt “warm” or “very warm” feelings toward
Israel, while 50% responded they experienced “very cold”
or unfavourable feelings toward Israel.
The survey also showed Germans favoured Palestinians over Israel,
with 26% saying they felt “warm” or “very warm”
feelings toward them and 39% feeling “cold” or “very
cold” feelings toward Palestinians.
Greenberg conducted similar surveys in European countries and
said the data reflects the worst time for Israel with regard to
German public opinion since 2008.
In France, the data were a little better, but Israel did not
achieve widespread public support there either: 24% said they
felt “warm” or “very warm” feelings toward
Israel, while 31% felt “cold” or “very cold”
feelings toward it.
Greenberg noted, however, that these findings have remained stable
over the last three years.
Meanwhile, in Sweden, the situation was similar to that in Germany,
with 49% saying their feelings toward Israel were “cold”
or “very cold.”
Bangladesh and Unite
Steve Davison is vice-chairman of the
Unite & Workers Uniting steering committee. He has returned
from meeting the Bangladesh garment workers in a delegation from
Unite and the United Steel Workers (Workers Uniting)
While on a Unite delegation to Bangladesh Steve
Davison met Labour Minister Khondker Mosharraf Hossain.
"What government in the world would not want its workers
to be paid a living wage?" he asked.
"We would like to support the garment workers' demands for
5,000 taka a month. In a just world, the workers should earn even
more.
"The problem Bangladesh faces is that giant multinational
retailers will not pay for a wage increase. Every year the multinationals
slash the prices they are willing to pay per unit, which drives
down wages. You have to control your own multinationals if you
want to help the garment workers."
Hossain's sense of powerlessness is very real. The truth is that
in today's super-globalised world, the power of multinational
corporations is greater than governments, especially in the Third
World.
And with wages increasing in China and Vietnam, the Bangladeshi
workers are at the bottom of the pile.
Despite there being nowhere cheaper to go, the employers' organisation
YET and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers Export Association
threatened to close the garment factories after the workers launched
their fightback.
The workers have not been intimidated by such actions. They are
still taking part in factory sit-ins and on-the-spot wage negotiations
to secure raises before returning to work. Mass demonstrations
and roadblocks are taking place all the time.
The workers, virtually without leadership and national organisation,
have spread the actions across the country, where copycat actions
are taking place.
But the workers' struggle is made harder because of the disarray
in the trade union movement. Bangladesh has over 6,000 trade unions,
which are in a constant struggle for survival and in competition
with each other. Dozens of the garment unions have very small
membership and most are linked to political parties and individual
politicians.
Few collect union dues. Rather, they fight each other over funding
from Europe and the US. There is no unity but rather a constant
fight over money.
The outcome of this historic struggle is yet to be written. But
things will never be the same again. Once the most downtrodden
workers of the world rise up and fight they become a beacon for
millions.
The Bangladeshi workers will learn more in the days ahead than
political commentators learn in a lifetime. The struggle in Bangladesh
begs a new kind of global trade unionism - one that is fit for
purpose in challenging and taming the global multinationals
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