The Histadrut national labor union has declared a labor dispute against the discount Israir airline company, threatening a strike of flight attendants in two weeks if management does not agree to negotiate. Many of the workers at Israir are former El Al employees, who often complain of too many rules and restrictions, and others are students who, the union said, are not aware of their rights.
The flight attendants charged that salaries are low and that conditions are so poor that they often have to sleep on airplane floors and are housed at cheap hotels in dangerous locations during layovers.