Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) chairman Avi Nissenkorn today rejected allegations that the Histadrut was concerned mainly with well-paid public sector workers, following the agreement reached yesterday by the Ministry of Finance and the Histadrut. Under the agreement, half of the pay rise for the 450,000 public sector workers will be differential.
"Ours is a social effort," Nissenkorn told Galei Tzahal (Army Radio), "but anyone who doesn't see a common thread running here in recent years is simply misleading the public." He added, "You see here an agreement that is part of that effort."
The new wage agreement includes a NIS 7.5 billion wage increment (not including related costs). At the request of the Ministry of Finance, half of this increment will be granted differentially, meaning that low-paid workers will receive bigger pay rises.
Ministry of Finance director general Shai Babad told Galei Tzahal in an interview, "Half of the increment will be distributed uniformly to all wage earners. Low-paid workers will receive a salary hike well in excess of 7.5% - as much as 14% in some cases. This narrows the percentage gap between low-paid and high-paid workers."
According to Babad, the NIS 9-9.5 billion cost of the wage agreement to the economy will be spread over three years.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 236, 2015
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