Airlines operating in Israel have asked the Ministry of Transportation and Civil Air Administration to permit flights to takeoff at night on Tuesday and Wednesday in an effort to beat out the announced nationwide labor strike, which it going to begin on Wednesday morning, 6 Menachem Av. The Histadrut National Labor federation has announced it is shutting down the nation on Wednesday.

Transportation Ministry regulations do not permit takeoffs between the hours of 01:00 and 05:00 during the night, an effort to limit noise pollution for people living near the airport. To the surprise of many, the ministry remains adamant in its refusal to accommodate the airlines, aware that not permitting the flights to depart as scheduled will leave thousands of travelers stranded.

According to flight information provided by airlines, there are 25 flights scheduled to take off on Wednesday morning between 06:00-09:00 alone, during which time the nationwide strike will begin.

Ministry of Transportation spokesman Avner Ovadia explained on Monday morning 3 Menachem Av that at this time, the ministry has no plans of changing regulations towards permitting the flights to take off during the restricted hours.

Work slowdowns have already begun in the Interior Ministry and this is evident at Ben-Gurion International Airport where passengers are waited for hours to clear border control on Monday morning. There are already reports of difficulties from people trying to renew passports.

Other agencies and services that will be striking include; Government offices, Bituach Leumi, employment services, religious councils, postal authority, collection authority, tax authority, seaports, WIZO daycare centers, NA’AMAT daycare centers, banks, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, agricultural produce distribution, administration of universities, local authorities/government, garbage collection, city inspectors and writing parking summonses.

There are currently 200,000 workers in Israel’s public sector that are manpower agency employees. The labor federation wants employees in certain ‘core jobs’ hired directly, including social workers, teachers, nurses in schools, hospital maintenance workers and more. The treasury is showing a willingness to accommodate the demands, albeit partial, in addition to calling on the labor federation to exhibit management flexibility pertaining to these regulations, which means to say management can operate without fear of sanctions and strikes. Efforts to avert the planned nationwide shutdown to date have not been successful.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)