Scottish Government urged to rule out bid from rail company linked to Israeli war crimes
The Scottish Greens have urged the SNP government to rule-out a bid by Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles S.A (CAF) from the shortlist of bidders for the new ScotRail suburban train fleet.
CAF has been named in the United Nations Human Rights database as a company involved in activities connected with illegal Israeli settlements.
A proposal brought forward by the Scottish Greens 12 months ago made Scotland the first country in the world to back Palestinian civil society’s calls for a range of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) measures against the state of Israel and companies complicit in crimes against Palestinians.
ASLEF rail union and STUC have made calls for the company to be rejected. Allowing them to secure a contract would be in direct contradiction with the Scottish Government’s BDS policy.
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay MSP said:
“This would be a clear breach of the boycott policy that the Scottish Parliament voted for.
“If a company has been named by the UN for profiteering from the repression and abuse of Palestinians, it should not be competing for public contracts in Scotland.
“ASLEF and the wider trade union movement are right to oppose this bid. It’s time for the Scottish Government to do the same.
“This is a critical test for the SNP. This bid runs directly against the BDS policy introduced by the Greens and rightly backed by Ministers.
“The message we send must be loud and clear, that Scotland will not back companies profiting from apartheid, genocide or human rights abuses.”