The Histadrut National Labor Union agreed in last-minute negotiations on Tuesday to call off a general nationwide strike planned for Wednesday. The strike was to encompass the entire public sector, including airports, garbage collection, and government offices.


The Histadrut strike was intended to protest the fact that many municipality workers have not been paid in months; some have not received their salaries for more than two years.

The strike was averted, for now, following a meeting between Histadrut Chairman Ofer Eini and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. As a result of the negotiations, Prime Minister Olmert sent a letter to the Labor Court in which he wrote, "Withholding employee payment is an improper norm, which must be rejected while taking steps against employers who do

Some municipal workers have not received their salaries for more than two years.

not pay their employees' salaries on time."

In addition to the declarative letter to the Labor Court, Olmert agreed to personally take action to find a solution to the matter of the unpaid salaries. He also agreed to bring the issue of the withheld municipal wages before the entire government at the next cabinet meeting, on Sunday.


In response to the Histadrut announcement Wednesday evening, Finance Minister Avraham Hirschson issued a statement praising the decision. Saying that he is "committed to continuing action to solve the problem of withheld wages in the municipalities, by eliminating the phenomenon from the roots."


Minister Hirschson added, "The mayors will have to become more efficient and get in line with economic reform programs that will solve, once and for all, the disgrace of unpaid wages on the one hand and [answer] the need for clean government on the other. I am determined to continue with an intense program and determined to quickly bring about the solution for the good of the Israeli economy. I praise the prime minister for his readiness to assist in finding a solution to the problem and I hope the solution is near."


In November 2006, the Histadrut ordered a nationwide strike, which lasted for one day, over the issue of the unpaid

The prime minister will bring the issue of the withheld municipal wages before the entire government at the next cabinet meeting.

municipal workers. At the time, the strike ended when government authorities expressed a commitment to solving the issue.  About a third of those who had been unpaid at the time have since received their salaries.


In an interview with Arutz-7 Hebrew Radio, Histadrut spokesman Eyal Melmach blamed the failure of several municipalities to pay their employees on mayoral mismanagement and the tremendous budget deficits it caused.


At the same time, Melmach placed responsibility for the continuing situation squarely on the government: "The government is responsible for the municipalities. If there are budget deficits and the mayors are criminals and are robbing funds that were earmarked for pensions and retirement funds, then the interior minister is supposed to initiate steps against them."


As a labor union, Melmach said, the Histadrut "is not demanding budgets or monies, but rather that employee wages are paid." According to the Histadrut spokesman, it is unheard of that a labor union has to appeal every week to the courts in order to obtain the wages of the organized employees.


The called-off strike was to have affected all government and municipal offices, ports, Ben-Gurion International Airport, Israel Railways, the postal service, Israel Military Industries and more.