"The meeting with the prime minister ended with no results," announced the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini, Manufacturers Association president Shraga Brosh, and Union of Local Authorities chairman Shlomo Bohbot this morning.
The Histadrut says that Netanyahu presented "no concrete actions" for the minimum wage and easing the various taxes.
Eini, Brosh and Bohbot plan a joint meeting at 4 pm today. They will be joined by National Union of Israeli Students chairman Itzik Shmuli. Netanyahu had planned a press conference to present a plan expected to include some minor reductions in indirect taxes, cancellation of the increase in public transport fares, and other measures, as well as an across-the-board cut in ministries' budgets. However, the press conference was postponed until tomorrow, officially because Steinitz should be able to attend then.
Unless there is a dramatic U-turn by this evening, it appears the Histadrut will declare a general labor dispute tomorrow, which will allow it to launch a general strike after the mandatory two-week cooling off period.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 9, 2011
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