Strikes over budget cuts begin in earnest
After negotiations failed to reach a compromise, 80 municipalities begin striking on Wednesday in protest against NIS 230 million budget cut reported to harm disadvantaged towns and cities; garbage pickup, municipal services, kindergartens and high schools among affected services.
Eighty municipality heads began following up Wednesday on threats made the previous day to go on strike if the government does not renege on its plan to carry out a cross-ministerial NIS 1.2 billion cut that would take NIS 230 million from local authorities.
The strike includes a list of basic municipal services. These include City Hall services, welfare services, trash disposal, parking enforcement officers, children's school rides, kindergartens and high schools, nor will there be secretary, health inspector and custodial services in elementary schools. Special education centers are continuing to work regularly.
Negotiation meetings took place throughout Tuesday between heads of several municipalities and high-ranking officials in the Finance and Prime Minister's Offices. On Monday, the municipality heads issued a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri (Shas), opposing the budget cut and particularly its effect on disadvantaged municipalities.
The letter stated that "If the Finance Ministry will not recant, municipal services will go on strike until further notice."
It continued to say that "Israel has 65 self-balanced municipalities, and apart from them, all the other municipalities are supported through (governmental grants). This means that some 190 local municipalities will be hit, as well as the services they provide their residents."
The municipality heads are demanding that instead of a wide scale cut, the government look at the natural growth and expansion of local municipalities.
Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality has joined the protesting municipalities that will be hurt by the budget cut. As such, kindergartens and high schools will not operate in Tel Aviv, in addition to municipal, welfare and sanitation services.
