The Foreign Ministry's union of employees, which has ramped up labor sanctions it imposed a few weeks ago to demand more pay, announced Tuesday that the ministry would no longer provide assistance to Israelis who are injured or arrested while abroad.
As part of the sanctions, which have already caused Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to cancel a planned visit to Israel ,ministry employees will not deal with Israelis who lose their passports, require medical attention, fall prey to fraud or crime, or become incarcerated or embroiled in legal problems while abroad.
According to the workers' union statement, the ministry workers will also refuse to provide aid to Israelis in other parts of the world who are lost or require evacuation by helicopter in the event of an accident.
The workers said Israelis who require aid while abroad must now turn to the Finance Ministry.
Last week the diplomats told the Knesset's Labor, Welfare and Health Committee that their strike has also hurt Israel's campaign to impose harsher sanctions on Iran, as well as its efforts to thwart additional flotillas to Gaza.
The workers launched the strike after talks with the Finance Ministry on a pay increase broke down.
On Monday the union announced that the Foreign Ministry would no longer provide economic or security-related assistance to Israeli companies abroad. The union also said it is no longer cooperating with the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute and the Manufacturers’ Association of Israel.