Israelis Call Off General Strike

Posted on Mar 21, 2007

Some 400,000 Israeli workers launched a general strike over unpaid wages that threatened to shut down the nation’s economy. Needless to say, this isn’t good news for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose popularity is down to 3 percent. Update: The eight-hour strike, which brought much of the country to a standstill, was called off after the labor union and the Finance Ministry came to a compromise.

BBC:

Israel’s main trade union has called off a general strike that halted most international flights, closed banks and shut down many public services.

The powerful Histadrut union ended the eight-hour strike after signing a deal with the Finance Ministry to end a crisis over unpaid wages.

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Previous BBC lead:

Flights at Israel’s only international airport, Tel Aviv, were cancelled as the strike came into force at 0900 (0700 GMT) after talks failed.

The stoppage was called by the powerful Histadrut union over local authorities failing to pay workers’ salaries.

The action affects government offices, firefighters, buses and railways.

Approximately 400,000 workers are thought to have taken part in the strike.

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