The Ministry of Finance and the Union of Local Authorities today released the following statement: "The Ministry of Finance and the Union of Local Authorities have agreed on an immediate end to the strike. Out of a wish to avoid harm to people, with an emphasis on the need to strengthen the local authorities, it was agreed that following a legal opinion that budget could not be changed in the 24 hours preceding the Knesset vote on the state budget, the parties will meet next Sunday to discuss the dispute and find a solution satisfactory to all parties. All the possibilities will be discussed in this framework, including a proposal by Union of Local Authorities chairman and Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut Mayor Haim Bibas to alter the budget distribution of the equalization grants."
More than 120 local authorities, including 15 major cities, went on strike today, with no services being provided to residents. The strike was in protest against the cabinet's decision to make an across-the-board cut in ministerial budgets. Kindergartens and schools also took part in the strike declared by Bibas.
A Tuesday night discussion attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ministry of Finance director general Shai Babad, Prime Minister's Office director general Eli Groner, and local authorities' representatives failed to stop the strike. Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon and Netanyahu refused to breach the budget framework, as demanded by the local authorities' representatives.
The Union of Local Authorities is protesting the Ministry of Finance's decision to cut NIS 178 million from the equalization grants for needy local authorities and local authorities in outlying areas.
Bibas said today, "This isn't a political struggle. It's a struggle to save the authorities dealing every day with eight million people. The Ministry of Finance officials don't want to find a real solution, and are cutting the equalizations grants - the local authorities' bread and butter. One day earlier, the Ministry of Finance boys found hundreds of shekels for political interests, but they aren't willing to allocate NIS 180 million for the outlying areas to improve the quality of life in Israel. As soon as the Ministry of Finance lets the Ministry of the Interior handle it, a way will be found to preserve the budget. It's unacceptable to talk about aid to disadvantaged local authorities, distributional justice, and narrowing gaps on the one hand, while taking such drastic measures against the local authorities and their residents, which will set them back by five years, on the other."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 21, 2016
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