Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini today announced that the general strike in support of contract workers will begin on Wednesday. Banks, the Bank of Israel, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), buses, railways, the courts, national parks, local authorities, and government ministries will be shut down. Public hospitals and Magen David Adom will operate on Saturday schedules. Seaports and Ben Gurion Airport will be closed between 6 am and noon.
Yesterday's meeting between Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) and Ministry of Finance officials ended without results, paving the way for Wednesday's strike, unless a last-minute solution is found. The Ministry of Finance is threatening to petition the High Court of Justice for an injunction against the strike.
At today's press conference, Eini said, "This is something that occurs everywhere. The Finance Ministry denigrates what took place here 20-30 years ago. We all used to work at unionized workplaces, which allowed us to age with dignity with a pension and everything. But now, 30 years have gone by, and today most employment in Israel is in all kinds of ways. These workers are all our children, the next generation."
Eini added that he knows that he will not eliminate the use of contract workers quickly, and that the Histadrut's initial goal is to restrict it. "We almost signed an agreement, but the Finance Ministry wanted a clause revoking these workers' right to strike. Everything hinged on this point. There's no chance that we'll forego this right," he said.
Eini called on the public to, "try to make a more just and better country; it's in your hands."
Eini addressed himself to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz, saying, "Solutions can be created at the negotiating table. I call on both of you to immediately resume talks at the highest level. We'll try from now until Wednesday morning to create a solution. A strike isn't the objective."
Histadrut Trade Union Branch chairman Avi Nissenkoren said that workers committees all agreed to support the strike.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 6, 2012
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012