Israeli Trade Unions Strike Against Draconian Decrees

Posted to the IUF website 03-Apr-2003

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The IUF has written to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to protest at a series of decrees issued by the government to slash wages and pensions, cancel collective agreements, increase the retirement age to 67 and put union-managed pension funds under government control. The decrees will lead to further privatization of public services, with thousands of public sector workers facing dismissal.

In response to the call from the Israeli national trade centre, Histadrut, IUF affiliates have joined other Israeli unions in a series of protest and strike action aimed at convincing the government to rescind these decrees. Some 100,000 local authority workers have already been on strike since March 31 and 50,000 government ministry employees have been implementing work bans.

The government's actions, in particular the unilateral cancellation of collective agreements, are a clear violation of fundamental Conventions of the International Labour Organisation, and coupled with a wide range of cutbacks to social security, health and education, will have severe effects on wage earners and those most in need of government assistance.