At 5:00am Wednesday morning, Egged buses in the Jerusalem area went on strike after Egged management and the Finance Ministry failed to come to an agreement.
"In the past few months, negotiations have not progressed. The government needs to keep its promises and subsidize more of the lines," an Egged source said.
The Liberal Movement criticized the Histadrut's behavior, saying, "The Histadrut was not satisfied with their previous strike on Tuesday morning, which affected the educational system and Israeli parents. Now, they are also affecting Egged bus lines in Jerusalem, in order to pressure the government into giving them unnecessary subsidies. If Egged needs to improve its workers' salaries, it should do so without forcing Israeli citizens to suffer, and without using Israeli citizens as hostages who must pay for their irresponsible behavior.
"We're sick of the Histadrut's guerrilla fighting, which continuously harms Israeli citizens. The government must wake up and regulate the Histadrut's disproportionate strength, so Israeli citizens will not have to suffer unnecessarily," they concluded.
Wednesday's strike includes only Egged bus lines, and only the Jerusalem area. Bus schedules will return to normal at 5:00am Thursday morning.