Israel's labour union starts nationwide strike

Jerusalem, Nov 29: Israel's main labour union began an open-ended public sector strike today, shutting down government offices, halting outgoing flights and preventing many vital services.

The Histadrut labour federation, which represents hundreds of thousands of civil workers, said the strike was in protest over the non-payment of salaries to 12,000 municipal workers and failure to transfer money to pension and other employee benefit funds for 40,000 others.

''All we want is for the local authorities to pay all the salaries coming to the workers and transfer the money to the workers funds as in a proper country,'' Histadrut chief Ofer Eini said late yesterday. ''It should be obvious, but this situation has gone on for two years and more.'' Eini met Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson for hours until early on Wednesday but the two sides failed to avert a strike.

Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport was closed for outgoing flights, stranding thousands of travelers. El Al Israel Airlines pushed up about a dozen flights scheduled for today to yesterday night.

Trash was not being picked up. Trains were not operating and seaports were shut, stopping a flow of cargo in and out of the country. The Bank of Israel was closed and delivery of fuel to gas stations was also hit and could cause fuel shortages should the strike continue for a few more days.

A strike would hurt Israel's economy and erode confidence at a time of recovery from the war against Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas in July and August. The economy has bounced back, helped by record foreign investment this year.

Mr Hirchson said a strike was not the solution and called on the Histadrut to negotiate with the government.

''Israeli citizens have a right to quiet, stability and certainty,'' he said on Tuesday. ''It is possible to resolve the problems without causing suffering to the citizens of Israel.'' Two years ago, the Histadrut held a strike over similar issues.

At that time, local municipalities were in deep financial trouble but the government bailed them out -- paying salaries in exchange for a belt-tightening programme.

Hirchson said that 180 municipalities had been on the verge of bankruptcy, but ''today the problem is very small and concentrated in a small number of municipalities''.

He noted that this year, the government has funnelled significant funds to municipalities.

REUTERS