The workers are demanding higher pay for handling more tasks.
Income Tax employees will launch labor sanctions next week if their demands for more pay for more work, including implementation of the negative income tax, are not met, says Income Tax workers committee chairman Nahum Friedlov. The employees are threatening not to provide services during the afternoon or hold open hours.
Friedlov said, "30 new tasks have been added in the past two years. We have lawyers and accountants who could earn several times more in the private sector, whereas here they get the average wage. The system is about to implement the NIS 2 billion negative income tax scheme in the coming year, and it's not possible to give the workers an extra NIS 80 million? Everywhere else in the world, income tax employees get high pay. Today, at the current salary level, I cannot stop people from quitting to go to the private sector where they get much higher salaries."
The Ministry of Finance said in response that negotiations with the workers were continuing. "We're sure that the workers will do everything possible to promote the negative income tax plan, which is intended to help the poor."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 6, 2008
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