From: Jurriaan Bendien (adsl675281@TISCALI.NL)
Date: Wed Nov 29 2006 - 14:31:51 EST
Last update - 09:49 29/11/2006 Nationwide strike grounds flights, shuts gov't offices By Haim Bior, Haaretz Correspondent, and Israel Radio A major public-sector strike over unpaid wages of workers in some local authorities began early Wednesday morning, cancelling outgoing flights at Ben-Gurion International Airport, paralyzing seaports ports and all train lines, and closing of land borders, government offices, employment bureaus, courts, National Insurance Institute branches, the Israel Lands Administration and the vehicle licensing offices. If the strike does not end within two days, a shortage of gasoline may ensue, as fuel will not be delivered to gas stations. Official documents like passports will not be issued, and functioning assessment committees at the National Insurance Institute will not meet. No mail will be delivered. The local authority strike means that garbage will not be collected and parking tickets will not be issued. The chief of the Histadrut trade unions department, Tsahi Tabakman, said Tuesday the strike would not at this point include the health system (health maintenance organizations, hospitals, well-baby clinics or Magen David Adom), special education, the defense industries, the Egged and Dan bus lines, the Broadcasting Authority, day-care centers, residential schools and the Israel National Roads Company. All banks will operate as usual, except the Bank of Israel, which will be closed. The reason for the strike is the partial or total withholding of salaries of about 12,000 workers in dozens of local authorities, and the non-transfer of money deducted for pension plans and educational training funds for 40,000 workers in local authorities. Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson met late Tuesday evening with Interior Minister Ronny Bar-On and chairman of the Histadrut labor federation, Ofer Eini, in an attempt to avoid the strike, but the meeting failed to produce results. "All we want is for the local authorities to pay all the salaries coming to the workers and transfer the money to the workers funds as should be done in a proper country," Histadrut chairman Eini said Tuesday. Complete story: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/794209.html Hundreds of thousands of people across the country have been affected by the general strike. Over 12,000 local and religious council workers have yet to receive a single paycheck in months. On the other side, the rest of the country is now being forced to pay the price of an ongoing dispute between the Finance Ministry and the Histadrut Labor Federation. Muhammad Nasser, a teacher employed by the Arabe Regional Council and a father of five, has not been paid for the past 12 months. "I am in real distress. I have no other choice but to borrow money from relatives. I feel humiliated every single day," he told Army Radio. In our family, there is an emphasis on education. Our savings for the kids' higher education no longer exist. It's a daily struggle. Every 5 or 10 shekels matter. I am no longer a provider for my family," he said. "Employees in this country are treated like slaves. I call on [Histadrut Chairman] Ofer Eini to stand strong and not give up. This has to be solved once and for all but there is not a single reliable person in the government." http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1162378508215&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull=
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