Bankrupted Jews General Strike & shut Israeli Economy

[SeeFartLoong]

http://www.haaretz.com/news/nationa...trike-disrupting-airport-and-economy-1.411688

Published 07:31 08.02.12
Latest update 09:20 08.02.12

Israeli workers open general strike, disrupting airport and economy
Last minute attempts by Finance Minister, and Histadrut labor federation to reach an agreement fail; trains not operating, delays at Ben Gurion airport, hospitals only dealing with emergency cases.
By Haim Bior and Haaretz Tags: Jerusalem Histadrut Israel strike

Get Haaretz on iPhone
Get Haaretz on Android

Israel's main labor union declared a strike on Wednesday that caused delays at Ben Gurion airport, and affected banks, hsopitals, government offices, trains, the stock exchange, and more, after talks with the government failed to produce an agreement on the status of workers employed through labor contractors.

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz called the strike unnecessary, saying it could cost the economy billions of shekels if it continues. He accused the Histadrut labor federation of being entrenched in its positions.
General strike Feb. 8, 2012 (Moti Milrod)

Flights were delayed at Ben Gurion airport due to general strike, Feb. 8, 2012.
Photo by: Moti Milrod

Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini said that the length of the strike now depends on the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu and Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Shalom Simhon.

Steinitz and Eini met on Tuesday in Jerusalem in a bid to reach an agreement over outsourced workers' conditions - but both said they did not believe a general strike the Histadrut planned for Wednesday could be avoided.

Netanyahu has been kept updated on negotiations and is reportedly considering intervening to end the crisis.

The High Court of Justice rejected a petition by the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce against the strike on Tuesday. The court said it did not see a reason to intervene at this time in the ruling of the National Labor Court to allow the strike to go ahead, despite the heavy damage it would cause.

Meanwhile, the Histadrut and the Coordinating Bureau of Economic Organizations - which represents private employers - have reached an agreement in principle that meets the Histadrut's main demands with regard to outsourced workers. According to the agreement, which has not yet been signed, outsourced workers who work full time and who have been working for at least one or two years would be hired directly by their employer instead of working for an employment agency as they do now. Workers who continue to work for an employment agency would have their salaries and benefits brought in line with those of regular employees.

The agreement was reached on Tuesday between Eini, the coordinating bureau's chairman, Shraga Brosh, and its director general, Avi Barak, and the chairman of the Histadrut's labor unions department, Avi Nissankorn.

While a separate agreement with the private sector does not solve the problem of the rest of Israel's outsourced workers, it contributes to Eini's image, and it increased his bargaining power during Tuesday's negotiating session with Steinitz.

In the session, during which no progress was made, Eini presented a general outline with two main thrusts. Outsourced workers, especially full-time cleaning workers, would be taken on as regular employees by the firms in which they work. The status of other outsourced workers would not change in relation to their employer but they would receive salaries equal to people employed directly by the company.

Eini said on Tuesday that an agreement in principle on this two-pronged proposal would prevent the strike.

Steinitz reportedly told Eini the state would not be able to directly hire outsourced workers in its ministries and agencies because of the high cost. But he 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.

Speaking on Tuesday in Tel Aviv at a conference of the Association of Electronics and Software Industries, Steinitz called on Eini to work with him to resolve the issue, and in any case not to strike. "This is not the time to traffic in Israel's economy. The world is being shaken and we are in a battle over the economy," Steinitz said, adding that a strike was "playing with fire."

Steinitz said the treasury recognized the need to improve conditions for outsourced workers, mentioning security guards and cleaners in particular, and "ensure their rights as is the rule in welfare states like Sweden and Holland." However, Steinitz said, "it is inconceivable for us to be the only country in the OECD that would hire outsourced employees directly and require this of local councils and high-tech companies."

Steinitz said: "If we directly hire cleaners and security guards today, tomorrow they will directly hire caterers and afterward accountants and lawyers who provide services to companies."

Steinitz said it was ridiculous to tell high-tech firms that, unlike their branches abroad, in Israel they could not purchase the services of cleaners and security guards, but would have to hire them directly.

"In Sweden all these services are purchased, but fair wages and conditions are strictly monitored. Here we have to correct the situation so as to move forward and not back by decades," the finance minister said.

The following institutions will be closed as a result of the strike:

All government ministries
National Insurance Institute
Unemployment offices
Municipalities − no office hours, parking tickets or garbage pick-up
Religious councils
Chief Rabbinate
Courts
Tax Authority
University administration workers
Trains
Ports
Na’amat and WIZO day-care centers
Banks
Stock Exchange
Habima, Beit Lessin and the Cameri theaters
Municipal museums and the Diaspora Museum
Educational Television
Agricultural councils
Ben-Gurion International Airport will be on strike from 6 A.M. to noon. ‏(Airlines have changed their schedules in and out of Israel to minimize inconvenience to travelers.‏)
Public hospitals and Magen David Adom will operate on Saturday schedules

Read this article in Hebrew


General strike Feb. 8, 2012 (Yaron Kaminsky)

Nahariya train station, closed due to general strike, Feb. 8, 2012.
Photo by: Yaron Kaminsky
More on this topic

Israeli general strike: List of closures
Israel's treasury and unions in last-ditch attempt to prevent general strike

 

[SeeFartLoong]

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/08/world/meast/israel-strike/

Israeli union employees strike on behalf of subcontracted workers
By Kevin Flower
February 8, 2012 -- Updated 0643 GMT (1443 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The strike could cost the country over $100 million a week
Workers at Israeli airports, hospitals, banks and government ministries are striking
The strike will also close the country' stock exchange, railway lines and other services
The dispute over subcontracted workers has been building for months

(CNN) -- Workers at Israeli airports, hospitals, banks and government ministries began a nationwide strike Wednesday after union and government negotiators were unable to bridge differences over the employment of subcontracted workers.

The strike followed the failure of overnight negotiations between Israel's trade union organization, Histardut, and the ministry of finance.

At issue is the government's employment of thousands of contracted workers in various sectors.

Union officials want to see conditions for these workers improved and for them to be given full employment rights. Israel's finance ministry has said it wants to improve wages and benefits for these workers and but has not agreed to full employment rights as demanded by union officials.

Histardut officials say there up to 400,000 Israelis who work as subcontractors, many paid less and eligible for fewer benefits than regularly employed union members.

The union reached a tentative deal Tuesday with an employers organization to allow for more subcontracted cleaning workers to become regular full time employees, but no agreement could be reached for those workers subcontracted by the government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Tuesday night that a strike would not solve the problems of subcontracted workers and that their conditions could be improved "without needing to put the country on strike and disrupt the life of our citizens".

Netanyahu warned of the potential economic cost of the labor action, suggesting the issues could be resolved through continued discussion.

"The Israeli economy is at a sensitive position and this is not the time to jeopardize the stability we have achieved through hard work and cooperation between the government and the labor federation at a time when leading economies around the world have crashed," the prime minister said.

The Israeli Chamber of Commerce has estimated the strike could cost the country over $100 million a week.

The strike will also close the country' stock exchange, railway lines, and halt municipal services like garbage collection.

The dispute over subcontracted workers has been building for months. In November union members staged a half-day nationwide strike over the issue and since that time court ordered negotiations have not been successful in resolving the problem.

 

[SeeFartLoong]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...s-stock-exchange-after-negotiations-fail.html

Israel Strike Shuts Banks, Ports, Stock Exchange After Negotiations Fail
By Calev Ben-David - Wed Feb 08 10:40:24 GMT 2012

A strike by Israel’s largest labor federation shut banks, ports, the stock exchange and most government offices after overnight negotiations with the Finance Ministry failed to produce a breakthrough.

The National Labor Court ordered the two sides to appear at a hearing today in Jerusalem at 2 p.m. Trains and universities were also closed.

The ministry said in a text message that while progress was made in the talks, the Histadrut labor federation was sticking to positions “that are liable to drag Israel to an illegitimate strike that can cost the economy billions of shekels.”

The work stoppage is in protest over conditions for contract employees. The Histadrut estimates that 250,000 Israelis employed through contractors receive on average about 30 percent less pay than comparable workers directly employed. The labor federation is calling on the government to take stronger action to have them hired directly so they receive higher wages and benefits.

Ben-Gurion International Airport was shut for the first six hours of the strike, although incoming flights continued to land. The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and the Bank of Israel were closed by the labor action, which involves some 500,000 workers.
‘Delicate Situation’

Israeli stocks traded in New York fell, with the Bloomberg Israel-US 25 Index dropping to the lowest in a week, on concern the strike’s shutdown of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange will prevent arbitrage trading. The gauge of the largest Israeli companies traded in the U.S. fell 0.8 percent to 92.29 yesterday, lagging behind the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s 0.2 percent increase.

“A strike will not solve the problem of contract workers,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday. “The Israeli economy is in a delicate situation and now is not the time to risk the stability that we have achieved at great effort and through cooperation between the government and the Histadrut in the face of the collapse of some of the world’s leading economies.”

The Histadrut said today it reached an agreement with private industry organizations to ensure that contract workers will receive equivalent conditions to salaried employees, and the strike’s cessation will depend on the government agreeing to those terms.

“We feel after last night that we are in an absurdist scenario,” Histadrut chief Ofer Eini said, in an e-mailed statement. “Private employers have agreed to equalize the conditions of contract workers and absorb them into their workforce, and the government, which is a public employer and has double the responsibility toward these workers, is not willing to do so.”
Improve Conditions

Minister of Industry and Trade Shalom Simhon said in an e- mailed statement that he’s proposing the government improve the conditions of contract workers to those equivalent to salaried employees, without making them part of the public workforce.

“It is difficult to quantify the damage to the economy, which I think is biggest for importers, exporters, and tourism. Jonathan Katz, a Jerusalem-based economist at HSBC Holdings Plc, said by telephone today. ‘‘Investors were already concerned over the effect the social protests would have on the budget and social spending. This could add to those worries.’’

The Bank of Israel, led by Governor Stanley Fischer, lowered the benchmark rate by 25 basis points, or 0.25 percentage point, at the end of January to 2.5 percent, the third cut in five months. The reduction was needed because the European debt crisis remains a threat to domestic growth, the bank said. Exports make up about 40 percent of Israel’s economy and Europe is one of the country’s largest markets.

The Finance Ministry cut its growth forecast for 2012 to 3.2 percent from 4 percent, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Jan. 18. The Bank of Israel on Dec. 26 lowered its prediction to 2.8 percent from September’s estimate of 3.2 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Calev Ben-David in Jerusalem at [email protected]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at [email protected]

 

[GOD IS MY DOG]

bad news for jews...........is good news for mankind

 

[COW flu]

bad news for jews...........is good news for mankind

Any economy such as SG closely linked with Ang Mohs' are FUCKED thoroughly.

 

[laksaboy]

bad news for jews...........is good news for mankind

This is an interesting read:

Synagogue of Satan
http://800pg.co.cc/Synagogue.of.Satan.pdf

 

[Rule of MOB]

Arab Rich Jews Poor. Think Oil.

So Jews are the TERRORISTS, this will be the recognition in a matter of time.

 

[GOD IS MY DOG]

Any economy such as SG closely linked with Ang Mohs' are FUCKED thoroughly.

when US and Europe suffer.......................no one can escape................

 

[flkyflky]

when US and Europe suffer.......................no one can escape................

There are still many good countries that are not so involved with so called global economy especially with Ang Moh. North Korea & Cuba for example. Many 3rd world as well are quite isolated from Ang Moh world.

 

[GOD IS MY DOG]

There are still many good countries that are not so involved with so called global economy especially with Ang Moh. North Korea & Cuba for example. Many 3rd world as well are quite isolated from Ang Moh world.

NKorea can survive..................any emerging market will submerge..............

Zimbabwe also can survive............