News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Histadrut union leader Ofir Eini will declare a work dispute on Sunday, a move that enables him to call a general strike in two weeks following an economic stimulus plan that ignored his demand for a "security net" for pension funds. The investments have lost more than 20 percent of their value during the market crash in the past several months.

However, a solution is expected as widespread criticism increases over Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On's (Kadima) stimulus plan. "The Finance Ministry is acting irresponsibly, forcing us to take this difficult action," said Eini. "Economists and the public believe that there is an immediate need for the implementation of a pension safety net, in particular for those who are nearing retirement age and are seeing their savings disappear."