Post office
Post officeFlash90

The Postal Service Workers' Union declared "victory" on Tuesday, after an agreement was announced with the Finance Ministry regarding workers' terms and salaries. 

Early details about the agreement indicate that the number of days workers will be sent on rounds will be reduced to two and a half per every two weeks, and that thousands of employees will gain tenure. 

The announcement surfaces after weeks of chaos at Israel Post, which stopped mail intake, ceased court transcriptions and transfer of state documents, and refused to accept mail from abroad as negotiations languished. 

Protests first erupted after Israel Postal Service management announced that 1,500 people would be dismissed and that contract workers would be hired in their place. 

Outrage over the move - which angered long-suffering postal service employees - prompted widespread support from the Histadrut, Israel's labor union, and sparked "solidarity strikes" in courts, airports, and other public places. 

Finally, after weeks of chaos, Histadrut leader Avi Nissenkorn called off solidarity strikes and declared the compromise a "victory for social justice." 

"We saved the postal company and we were able to prevent the dismissal of dedicated employees," Nissenkorn stated, at a 1:00 pm press conference. "The way we've approached the last few weeks is a fundamental part of the struggle to return the human dignity of workers in Israel. "

"Today not only prevented the dissolution of the postal company, but we made sure that we anchor the agreements in a way which improves service for Israeli citizens," he continued, adding that the "one way" for companies to recover was "through agreements between workers and employers." 

The Israeli Postal Service has faced major budgetary setbacks for several months.

Last December, the government announced that up to 2,000 workers would be dismissed as part of a large-scale cost-cutting operation, sparking additional strikes in early 2014. 

With the increased popularity of e-mail and electronic money transfers, and competition from private parcel and overnight letter companies, the post office's prospects for growth are slim, government officials believe.

But postal strikes and cutbacks affect Israelis more than just in their mail; the offices also operate as banks, document ratification and transfer centers, and bill-paying offices for a plethora of basic services.