Once again Israelis are likely to face a major nationwide strike in which the Histadrut national labor federation shuts down essential services, including air and sea ports. Histadrut leader Ofir Eini this week is expected to declare a ‘work dispute’. By doing so, he launches the two-week countdown timer following which the union is permitted to launch the strike. The two week hiatus period is intended for intense negotiations towards avoiding the strike, but such negotiations rarely take place until after a strike is in progress.

The reason for the strike is the “gezeiros included in the 2013/2014 state budget” Eini explains, unwilling to accept Finance Minister Yair Lapid’s master plan for the nation’s economy. While efforts are taking place to arrange a meeting between Eini and Lapid, there does not appear to be progress in narrowing the gap that exists between the two and their respective visions for the economy. Last week Eini sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, requesting a meeting with him as well. Such a meeting is yet to take place.

If the strike is launched Eini indicates he plans to take it to the limit, shutting Ben-Gurion International Airport, sea ports, government offices, local government including city halls, educational facilities, and medical facilities including government hospitals and HMOs operating on a Shabbos schedule, which results in the cancellation of all elective and non-urgent surgical and diagnostic procedures. This results in the closure of all nonessential outpatient clinics. The strike would also impact utilities.

While Eini threatens to shut down the nation, Lapid is working to push his bill that would prohibit employees of essential services from striking. The treasury is also working to push a law that would prohibit a strike shutting the nation’s only international airport, the Israel Electric Company, sea ports and essential services.

Back in 1998, then Finance Minister Prof. Yaakov Ne’eman tried to implement similar laws to block the severity of strikes concerning essential services as did Finance Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in 2003. Both failed because the Histadrut shut down the nation, thereby thwarting the treasury efforts to date.

The prime minister over recent months has been trying to make progress advancing a law prohibiting strikes of essential services, and while he has been pushing Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, it appears the AG has been dragging his feet in the matter.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)