Bituach Leumi (National Insurance Institute) officials announced on Thursday that beginning on Sunday, they will launch sanctions that will close offices. Workers will not answer phones or process other materials, but medical review boards will continue operating. The sanctions will impact all offices nationwide.

Union officials report they are protesting the fact that officials are not providing adequate manpower to handle the agency’s increased load. Union leaders add that 450 Bituach Leumi employees have left since 2003, and they have not been replaced.

Today, with the climbing unemployment, the organization is being taxed beyond its capabilities and employee representatives insist additional staff must be hired, prompting the word sanctions.

Bituach Leumi management has called on union officials to delay the walkout and come to the negotiating table in an effort to avoid further complicating the lives of the unemployed who rely on the agency for assistance.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)