Join next national march for Palestine on 3 August

Over the past months, PSC has been leading massive demonstrations of solidarity with the Palestinian people. The latest march will start at noon on Park Lane in London and will highlight how the new Labour government “has done nothing to end UK complicity in Israel’s violence”. 

The UK continues to export arms to Israel nine months into its genocidal assault on Gaza, which, as of writing, has killed at least 39,324 people, including more than 15,000 children. 

A recent letter written by experts in the medical journal the Lancet estimated that the actual death toll of Palestinians killed in Gaza could exceed 186,000, arguing that a dramatic underestimate is likely since the official death count does not include the thousands of people buried under the rubble or for the mounting "indirect" deaths as a result of Israel's destruction of Gaza's food distribution, healthcare and sanitation systems.

PCS remains at the forefront of the trade union response to the ongoing war in Gaza, speaking regularly at demonstrations, providing donations, and pressuring the government to end complicity in war crimes. We will continue to call for a ceasefire, the release of all hostages and peace across the region.

Just last week, PCS called for a meeting with the Cabinet Office on the situation in Gaza and its implications for PCS members. PCS General Secretary Fran Heathcote wrote to permanent secretary Cat Little for a meeting to negotiate a satisfactory resolution on:

• The legality of work being undertaken within the civil service and its related areas which involves interaction with the government of Israel
• Our members’ obligations, and the employer’s interpretation of them, under the civil service code
• Our members’ rights and freedoms, particularly in respect of the Equality Act 2010 and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Ahead of Saturday's march, Fran said "our government is complicit in this suffering and they have the power to put a stop to it", calling on prime minister Keir Starmer to "end arms sales to Israel immediately".

"Let’s flood the streets of London in our thousands on Saturday to demand action from our government in order that the killing can stop and Palestine can be a free and independent nation," she added. 

To learn more about getting involved with Palestine solidarity, you can visit the PSC website and read a recent blog by retired trade unionist Mick Bowman on his experience of walking 1,800 miles from Tyneside to Palestine to raise awareness of the Palestine question.