Director of Wages Ilan Levin tendered his resignation to Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz yesterday. The resignation will take effect on May 1. Levin's term expires September 2012.
Levin's resignation is an especially painful blow to Steinitz, as he is the fourth senior Ministry of Finance official to quit early in the past ten months. He was preceded by Accountant General Shuki Oren in March 2011, Budget Director Udi Nissan in May, after just two years in the job, Ministry of Finance director general Haim Shani in July, and Israel Tax Authority director general Yehuda Nasradishi, who refused to continue for another term.
The bad morale at the Ministry of Finance has made it difficult for Steinitz to find suitable senior officials as successors. Most prominently, no replacement has been found for either Shani or Nasdadishi. Government Companies Authority director Doron Cohen is serving as acting ministry director general.
Levin's resignation is a loss for the ministry, albeit not unexpected. Although he is considered one of the best ever Director of Wages, the job is especially exhausting. He was considered tough but fair. Behind a reserved demeanor, he gave combative interviews and was not afraid to launch frontal attacks on strong unions, such as the university faculty and Bank of Israel employees, during disputes. For example, in an interview with "Globes", he called to restrict the right to strike. He wanted to restructure the public sector labor structure, but failed to win Steinitz's support.
Levin's relations with Steinitz were fairly calm, mainly because in three critical cases Levin swallowed his pride and not to quit, after being overruled. The first case was when Steinitz rejected Levin's demand to keep oversight of Bank of Israel salaries, and conceded the issue to Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer.
The second, and more important case, involved the collective public sector contract singed in November 2010 with Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini, which was one of the worse contracts ever signed. Levin and Shani demanded differential salaries and conditions, including bonuses for outstanding government employees, in exchange for the large pay hikes demanded, but Steinitz capitulated to Eini, who is identified with the powerful public sector workers committees. Steinitz then went on to boast that the agreement was signed without a single strike. No subsequent labor agreement has been sent to the Wages Department for review.
In the third and last case, involving the medical residents, Steinitz, for the first time, reopened a signed labor contract, infuriating Levin.
These incidents greatly weakened the standing of the Director of Wages, a job that already lacks sufficient teeth and authority. The department is in the midst of the battle over contract workers, which is liable to further shock public sector labor relations and cost the Treasury heavily.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 3, 2012
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