With a general strike scheduled for next Wednesday, July 22, the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) today staged a demonstration in Tel Aviv on behalf of contract workers.
Thousands of people took part in the demonstration, including Histadrut employees and social activists, contract workers, and members of workers committees from all over Israel.
Histadrut chairman Avi Nissenkorn spoke at the demonstration, saying, "We have taken upon ourselves the struggle to eliminate the unacceptable practice of contract labor, and I say to the Israeli public: We won't stop, and we won't rest, until we get rid of this phenomenon. Next Wednesday, if we don't reach agreement on the issue of contract workers, certainly in the core professions, there will be a general strike. We can't have a civics teacher who's a contract worker, a high school nurse who's a contract worker, or a social worker at the municipality who's a contract worker.
"Is this the country we want?," Nissenkorn asked. "We have to make a change, and we will make a change. The Ministry of Finance officials have to get used to it. We can't continue this practice, which deprives people of respect and damages the nation's social fabric. This isn't just the workers' fight; it's a fight of Israeli society, a fight of every one of us. I'm telling the Ministry of Finance officials that we won't stop this, and we won't hold our peace. We'll strike until this issue is cleared up, and contract workers in the core professions are accepted as full-time regular workers."
Nissenkorn continued, "Just like we raised the minimum wage and brought workers with disabilities to center stage, contract workers won't be at the bottom of the public agenda - they'll be at the top. The prime minister has to get involved in solving this. The Minister of Finance, whose heart is with us, should decide. We need a change for us, for our children, for our parents, for our parents, for Israeli society."
At the end of his speech, Nissenkorn referred to the scheduled strike, if understandings are not reached on this issue, saying, "This is a crucial day, and Wednesday is a crucial day - we'll all see the power of the working man. There can be no more righteous strike than this. The strong workers committees will take up the cudgels for the weak. Workers in the civil service, the local authorities, firefighters, workers at Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22), the Israel Airports Authority, the ports, Israel Railways - all of them will pitch in on behalf of contract workers."
Nissenkorn warned earlier this month that the strike would be "the most severe" in Israel's history.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 16, 2015
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2015