Israeli workers launch nationwide strike for outsourced employees

Israeli workers launch nationwide strike for outsourced employees

2012-02-09 00:29:52 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (BNO NEWS) -- Israeli workers on Wednesday launched a strike for outsourced employees which shut down government offices, banks, airports, ports, rail services and other sectors of the country's economy, local media reported.

The strike was called by Histadrut, Israel's main labor union, after talks with the government failed to reach an agreement on the status of workers employed through labor contractors. The strike caused delays at Ben Gurion airport and affected banks, hospitals, government offices, trains, the stock exchange and more, the Haaretz newspaper reported.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz called the strike unnecessary, saying it would harm the country's economy if it continues. But Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini said that the length of the strike depends on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Shalom Simhon.

Netanyahu has been kept updated on negotiations and is reportedly considering to intervene to end the crisis, Haaretz reported. The High Court of Justice rejected a petition against the strike on Tuesday, saying it did not see a reason to intervene.

Talks between Steinitz and Eini failed on Tuesday after the finance minister said the state would not be able to directly hire outsourced workers in its ministries and agencies because of the high cost. The union wants the government to hire 250,000 outsourced workers, especially full-time cleaning workers, who have working conditions which are inferior to those of civil workers who are directly on government payrolls.

Steinitz reiterated his willingness to raise the salaries of these people and to improve their benefits, as well as increase the monitoring of employment agencies to ensure their workers' rights are not being infringed. However, Steinitz said, "it is inconceivable for us to be the only country in the OECD [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development] that would hire outsourced employees directly and require this of local councils and high-tech companies."

Meanwhile, the Histadrut and the Coordinating Bureau of Economic Organizations - which represents private employers - have reached an agreement in which outsourced workers who have worked full time for at least one or two years would be hired directly by their employer rather than through an employment agency.

It is the second strike as a result of the dispute. In November 2011, a four-hour general strike by Israeli public workers also shut down major sectors of the economy. The strike affected trains, buses, universities, government ministries and municipalities and was ended at 10 a.m. local time following a last-minute court order.

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