General strike launched in public sector
Last-minute attempt to prevent strike fails in night meeting between finance, interior ministers and Histadrut labor federation chairman. Strike includes all government offices, local councils, airports and seaports, post offices, Israel Railways and Bank of Israel
- Government offices
- Customs
- Tax Authorities
- Vehicle License Bureau (Driving tests will not be held)
- Israel Land Administration and Land Registry Office
- National Insurance Institute
- National Employment Service
- Israel Postal Company
- Phone calls will not be answered at Israel Electric
- Bezeq (There will be no reception of the public, disruptions are expected at telephone service center)
- Oil Refineries Ltd.
- Pi-Gliloth Petroleum Terminals and Pipelines Ltd.
- Israel Railways
- Airports, seaports and border terminals
- Local authorities
- Bank of Israel
- Religious councils
The education system, in kindergartens and schools, is operating as usual, apart from kindergarten assistants who are on strike.
The municipalities' transportation services to schools are not operated, and therefore disruptions are expected in places where children arrive to school with the municipalities' transportation services.
El-Al Israel Airlines decided that 13 flights which were scheduled to depart Wednesday will take off earlier, and the flights took off before 6 a.m.
Sanctions are also expected in courthouses, where there will be no reception of the public, and the fire fighting and rescue services will operate as if it were the weekend.
The administrative workers in higher education institutions will also be on strike.
Health maintenance organizations, hospitals, special education, Magen David Adom, Mekorot – Israel National Water Company, buses, Israel Broadcasting Authority, daycare centers and Israel National Roads Company will operate as usual.
The strike broke out in protest of the ongoing failure to pay local authority workers' wages. A last-minute attempt to prevent the strike failed, after the finance and interior ministers failed to convince the Histadrut chairman to give the government a few more days to solve the problem of holding back wages.
Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson called on the Histadrut on Wednesday morning to end the strike and continue the negotiations. According to the minister, most local authority workers could be paid within days.
Hirchson said he would agree to resume negotiations with the Histadrut once the strike ends.
