Dear members,

NTEU University of Melbourne Branch Committee has passed this motion supporting a Palestine Solidarity statement.

The statement was drafted by Palestinian, Jewish, Muslim, Middle Eastern and other members and is supported by First Nations members. It was developed at our branch in parallel to the central NTEU statement that went out on Friday 20 October and has points specific to the University of Melbourne. We emphasise that it has been developed with deep consideration and careful consultation, and we do not put this statement out in haste or without care for our members, students and wider community who are affected.

We recognise the importance of solidarity with other unions around the world, oppose militarisation, and support climate justice. Our demands for a transformative agenda for workers in the education sector are part of a larger global movement against accumulation of wealth and power, that takes advantage of the most marginalised. We also recognise that Palestinian unions and academics have made specific calls to unions to pass motions such as this one. We encourage members to join in signing this petition initiated by NTEU members in NSW. Finally, keep an eye out for the open letter based on this statement, which University of Melbourne staff, students and alumni will be invited to sign.

Australian unions, and unions elsewhere, have stood alongside marginalised and oppressed peoples worldwide. We aim to follow in that tradition. The University of Melbourne is both the site of colonial occupation of Indigenous land, and the site of significant labour organising history. We are also attentive to and supportive of First Nations solidarity with Palestine.

We are sharing some resources to address any questions and interest in learning more on the issue, in good faith that members who may not be familiar with the issue can better engage with and support the activism that many of our members have been leading. 

While we encourage dialogue within our membership in the spirit of learning, we also want to caution any interrogation or overreliance on members who are connected with the Middle East and are going through a high level of stress and pain as we watch the events unfold.

In solidarity,
NTEU Branch Committee