Among those declaring labor disputes are teachers, workers of Bank of Israel, the Ashdod port, the National Insurance Institute, and even university students.
The employees of Bank of Israel voted late this morning (Monday), after a nearly three-hour session, to strike immediately. The move is backed by the nationwide Histadrut Labor Union. "We can no longer sit quietly," a spokesperson said, "after having received unilateral letters [from the Treasury] for a hearing to lower our salaries... We have reached an agreement twice, but yet we keep on receiving demands for more concessions [in our benefits]."
Accusations of over-paying to Bank of Israel employees have long been leveled. The Finance Ministry demands that the workers return some monies paid them in the past, such as car allowances for employees who do not have a drivers' license. The employees were also eligible for loans at very generous terms. "This is a wild and uncontrolled strike by a wild and uncontrolled union," a Finance Ministry spokesman, "that wants to continue to enjoy illegal benefits at the public's expense."
It could be that the National Labor Court will issue a restraining order against the strike, but Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer has not yet asked for one. Fischer will hold what is being billed as a "dramatic" press conference at 8 PM. If the strike occurs, ATM machines will soon run out of money, the representative rate of foreign currencies will not be published, and even the stock exchange will suffer.
It was also announced this afternoon that the National Insurance Institute employees will not receive the public or answer phones tomorrow. Their one-day slowdown comes in protest of what they call "foot-dragging" regarding their complaints about high work-loads resulting from lack of hiring.
This morning, the port workers in Ashdod declared a surprise strike. Hundreds of trucks laden with cargo for export arrived and found the gates closed. The port workers warned last week that they might strike. They are miffed that the Finance Ministry has not approved a recently-concluded - but not yet signed - agreement between workers and the port management that give them higher raises than the Finance Ministry had approved.
The Upper Schools Teachers Union, which struck schools in the Tel Aviv region today, will strike all high schools and some junior high schools in the greater Jerusalem region tomorrow. Affected areas include Mevaseret Zion, the Binyamin communities, Maaleh Adumim, Modiin, Gush Etzion, and more. Union leader Ran Erez says the sanctions will continue until a new contract is signed and requested reforms are enacted.
University students also on strike, against the Shochat Commission recommending tuition raises. The students announced yesterday that they and the professors have begun a joint struggle to repair the erosion of the past few years in education budgeting, to raise professors' salaries, to withdraw the plans to hire professors on personal contracts, and not to raise tuition.
Finally, employees in a Jerusalem government complex building say they will strike tomorrow, in protest of the lack of openable windows. They say they have long been complaining of the lack of air in the three-year-old building. The strike will close down the Ministries of Transportation, Tourism, and Industry/Trade, as well as the Jerusalem branches of the Tax Authority and the Israel Lands Authority.
This morning, Histadrut Labor Union chief Ofer Eini threatened that he would call a nationwide strike if within nine days, municipal workers have not all received their salaries. Eini met with Finance Minister Avraham Hirschsohn last night, but the meeting ended with no results.
Just two weeks ago, the Histadrut agreed, following last-minute negotiations with Prime Minister Olmert, to call off a general nationwide strike that would have encompassed the entire public sector, including airports, garbage collection, and government offices. The strike was in protest of the fact that many municipality workers have not been paid in months, and some have not received their salaries for more than two years. The Cabinet discussed the issue of non-payment of salaries by some 30 local councils yesterday (Sunday); Prime Minister Olmert expressed his confidence that it would be properly resolved in a few days.