9 May, 2011
The ICEM Norwegian affiliate, IndustriEnergi (IE), announced on 1 May that Shaher Sae’d, General Secretary of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), is the 2011 recipient of the Arthur Svensson International Award for Union Rights.
Sae’d becomes the second recipient of the Svensson Award. Wellington Chibebe, the Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Confederation of Trade Unions (ZCTU), won the award in 2010, which comes with a NOK 500,000 (€60,000) cash prize.
In selecting Sae’d and the Palestinian national labour centre, IE said, “PGTU fights for better understanding of the importance of union rights in the Palestinian self-government administration. They also work for Israel to stop the occupation of the Palestinian territories and the illegal settlements.”
Shaher Sae’d, General Secretary of the PGFTU
Some 30 individuals and organisation were nominated for the award in 2011, which will be presented at a dinner and ceremony in Oslo on 16 June. The award is named after Arthur Svensson, a leader of Norsk Kjemisk Forbund, the Norwegian Chemical Workers’ Association, which merged in 2006 with the Petroleum and Energy Workers’ Federation (NOPEF) to create IE.
Svensson died in 2008, but left a legacy in Norway and beyond as a man who promoted global peace, disarmament, and a nuclear weapons-free world.
Noting the fact that Shaher Sae’d has been imprisoned a number of times, and his own safety and that of his family have been at risk several times, the selection committee said Sae’d “has shown outstanding leadership of the Palestinian trade union movement, while the political and financial framework has made this work especially difficult.
“The Palestinian people have fought against occupation, as well as an independent state for over 60 years. Under the leadership of Shaher Sae’d, PGFTU has shown a will for dialogue and has refused to isolate any Palestinian groups, including Hamas. He has been open to a dialogue and cooperation with Histadrut, the organisation of trade unions in Israel.”