_a.jpg "Photo: Yaron Brener")
Labor federation declares general strike
Labor Court rules to postpone strike briefly; Histadrut declares strike will end only when wages to over 3,700 workers are paid
Most of Israel's public sector, including Ben-Gurion Airport, will grind to a halt Wednesday morning due to a general strike by the Histradrut labor federation. The Labor Court ruled early Wednesday morning that the strike be postponed by three hours and start at 9 am.
The government had petitioned the Labor Court, hoping it would issue an injunction against the strike, which is being held in compliance with a decision by the Histadrut in protest of the local authorities' failure to pay the wages of 3,700 workers.
As a result of the strike, which was meant to begin at 6 am and, due to the court's ruling, will now begin at 9 am, all government ministries except for the Defense Ministry will be closed to the public on Wednesday.
The Israel Railways, all ports, local authorities, the Israel Electric Company, the National Insurance Institute, the religious councils, firefighters, the Land Administration, the National Water Company, the vehicle licensing office, the Ben-Gurion Airport and all border crossings will be on strike.
In an effort to make the strike less inconvenient to the public, the Histadrut said that a number of sectors would be allowed to operate.
The Bank of Israel will release cash to refill ATMs and approve transactions, while special education facilities will be open, said Tzachi Tabakman, the general secretary of the Histadrut's professional workers branch.
In addition, the health sector, the stock exchange and the arms industry will operate as usual. Post offices, banks, the national telecommunications company Bezeq, and oil refineries will also be open.
Ben-Gurion Airport said it had launched an emergency number for passengers whose flights would be affected by the strike. The number is: 00972-3-9755555. Passengers can also get updates from the airport's website.
Airport employees worked intensively all night in order to allow as many flights as possible to take off before the strike. Ten flights were moved up to Tuesday evening.
Shimshon Katz, manager of the airport's service division, said that he had received approval to allow the landing of 11 flights carrying soccer fans from England. Histadrut officials, however, denied the report.
Treasury: Only 1,100 workers not paid
"Until each and every one of the 3,700 employees receives his overdue wages in his bank account, we will not terminate the strike," Histadrut Chairman Ofer Eini told a press conference.Three weeks ago, Eini revoked his decision to call for a general strike after receiving assurances from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he would press the Finance Ministry to resolve the dispute over the unpaid wages.
"The prime minister promised that there would be an absolute solution. We gave ample time for the prime minister to find a solution so that there will not be a single worker in Israel … who hasn't received his wage," Eini said.
The Finance Ministry argues that there are 1,100 workers who have not been paid, charging that the Histadrut's figure of 3,700 is exaggerated.
Data collected by the Histadrut show that 16 religious councils and 36 local authorities have been withholding the salaries of 3,700 workers for over six months or more citing a lack of sufficient funds.
The Histadrut also argues that 1,400 pensioners are not receiving their pensions from local authorities.
Aviram Zino, Tzvi Lavi, Eli Senyor and Yael Branovsky contributed to this report
