Labor Party Chairman Amir Peretz announced Sunday that he will resign his role as Histadrut labor federation chairman on January 2.
Peretz said he would recommend "comrade Ofer Eini," the current trade union division chairman, for the role in a Histadrut meeting scheduled for December 20 to elect the new chairman.
During a press conference in Tel Aviv, Peretz said that as opposed to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who uses governmental offices for the benefit of his campaign, he has managed for 10 years to separate politics from the Histadrut.
Peretz added that if he thought social problems could only be solved through the Histadrut he may have remained chairman.
However, he said, "I see the government is using legislation in order to crush elderly people, single mothers and new immigrants."
When asked if he would cooperate with the Histadrut in case of a coalition with Sharon where he would serve as finance minister, Peretz answered "I promise to win. I have won in every battle."
He added, however, that he does not reject some kind of cooperation and believes in the establishment of a national council for economy and society as in Ireland and Scandinavia.
_a.jpg "Peretz. Quitting Histadrut Photo: Yaron Brenner")
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