REPORTERNET.COM

The general strike declared by Israel's main labor federation continued into its second day on Thursday, after a night of negotiations at the office of National Labor Court President Nili Arad with Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini ,and the head of the Manufacturer’s association of Israel failed to yield an agreement.

Arad extended the talks, originally meant to continue until 1 A.M, following the requests of the various parties. A final decision was meant to be reached by 6 A.M., but the parties requested a further two-hour extension to 8 A.M., which was also granted.
The Histadrut ordered Ben Gurion airport staff to resume work on Thursday morning.  Workers were not at strike at the airport on Wednesday, but there were disturbances to services. A strike was planned between 6 A.M. and 12 P.M. on Thursday.
The parties in the dispute were originally meant to report to Arad by 1 A.M. after meeting in a bid to reach an agreement over the conditions of workers subcontracted from personnel agencies, but the negotiating parties failed to reach agreement and requested additional time which was approved by the National Labor Court.
Sources familiar with the negotiations said the strike appeared to be drawing to a close.
Before the decisive court session, officials of the treasury, Histadrut and Coordinating Bureau of Economic Organizations, which represents the private employers, met Wednesday night in a bid to restart the stalled talks about subcontracted workers.
The Histadrut demanded the state hire the subcontracted workers directly, especially the cleaning workers. Those who were not hired directly must receive the same wages, benefits and terms as the regular employees doing the same work, the labor federation insisted.
The Finance Ministry rejected the demands, saying it was willing to raise the subcontracted workers'wages by 20-25 percent and make sure their rights are maintained.
On Wednesday, Histadrut Chairman Ofer Eini said he would end the strike immediately if Industry, Trade and Employment Minister Shalom Simhon signed an order to apply the agreement the labor federation had reached separately with the private employers to the public sector.
Earlier in the day, the Histadrut and Coordination Bureau of Economic Organizations reached an agreement under which a subcontracted worker would receive the same wages as a company worker in the same position.



(source: www.haaretz.com)