The Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) has made good on its threat, and announced a general strike to begin at 6 am on Monday. The Histadrut's announcement states that its chairman, Ofer Eini, made the decision to strike after negotiations over the past week on its demand for a reduction in the number of contract workers in the government and public sector, through transferring the bulk of them to the payroll of the places at which they work, reached deadlock. It said this was because of the "uncompromising stance" of the Ministry of Finance, which ruled out hiring the contract workers directly.
The strike will cover airports, seaports, local authorities, government ministries, and other public institutions. The Histadrut also intends to extend the strike to private employers. A detailed list is expected on Sunday.
Eini said today, "A strike is the last resort, but we are left with no choice after the Ministry of Finance announced yesterday that it had no intention of employing contract workers directly, and thereby reducing the scope of a shameful phenomenon that has taken root in Israeli society.
"I hope that the prime minister will continue to make every effort to reach agreement and avoid the strike," Eini continued.
It is believed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will try to renew the talks with Eini over the weekend. The Histadrut has made clear lately that it does not seek the hiring of all contract workers, but it wants the phenomenon to be surveyed. It realizes that in many cases, security guards cannot be taken onto the payroll, but it believes that cleaners can.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 3, 2011
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