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Histadrut Labor Union Chairman Avi Nissenkorn on Thursday warned the public to prepare for a general strike of Egged buses all over Israel on Tuesday.

According to Nissenkorn, the strike is being held to protest the Transportation Ministry and Finance Ministry's recent decision to reduce the subsidy given to Egged bus lines. This decision prevents the a group agreement from being signed within the company.

A few years ago, Egged received a large sum of money to enable the company to match its competition.

"For a long time, the Histadrut and Egged drivers did everything they could to prevent dramatic steps from being taken," Nissenkorn said. "However, the Israeli government used the time they were granted to delay the unavoidable.

"Now, when the future of all of Israel's buses is uncertain, the government continues to ignore the public interest. Not only is the government making problems for thousands of Egged drivers, they are also harming a million and a half Israeli passengers.

"This is a severe crisis, and we will need to take great steps in order to solve it. The solution to this crisis is in the hands of the Transportation Minister and the Finance Minister, and I hope they will do their job properly and correct the wrongs which have been done."

The Egged bus company has continuously announced strikes, but most have been canceled after deals were struck. However, in January, Egged buses in the Jerusalem area held a strike which angered the Transportation Ministry and caused Egged to lose funding.