The Struggle against Contract Labor: Histadrut Calls General Strike for July 22

Chairman of the Histadrut (the General Federation of Labor in Israel), Avi Nissankorn, said Tuesday, July 7 that the unions belonging to the federation are about to embark on an “uncompromising struggle again contract labor.” In a press conference held in Tel Aviv, Nissankorn declared a general strike to start on July 22; the reason for the strike: roughly half of Israel’s 200,000 contract workers are employed in the public sector where they have less job security and fewer benefits than their salaried counterparts.

“We will demonstrate our solidarity, our power, and our commitment,” Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) chairman Avi Nissankorn (Photo: Histadrut)

We will demonstrate our solidarity, our power, and our commitment,” Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) chairman Avi Nissankorn (Photo: Histadrut)

“The workers are this country’s infrastructure. They pull it forward, and many of them entered the profession they did because of their values – someone who studied to be a nurse did it in order to serve the public; and others who set out to become teachers did so because of their ideals. They must not be treated like contract labor. The Ministry of Finance is destroying the country’s infrastructure,” Nissenkorn added. The Histadrut chairman declared “We won’t give up and won’t give way until this issue is resolved,” vowing “we will demonstrate our solidarity, our power, and our commitment to this issue.”

“Israeli society has lost its direction,” Nissenkorn said. “There’s something illogical here, because I’m sure that each one of us is unwilling to perpetuate such a reality; each of us thinks about himself and his spouse and his children – and we’re unwilling to see such things for ourselves. Similarly, these people shouldn’t go on being invisible –it shouldn’t be allowed.”

“You know, the school holiday during Passover – for many workers, it’s a pleasure, because they’re with their families. But for many other workers, it’s a disappointment, because the state doesn’t pay them for this vacation. They get no pay for a week. They’re punished and impoverished. This is our country. We mustn’t accept it.”

Hadash (the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality – Communist Party of Israel) fraction in the Histadrut welcomed the decision to call a general strike, as was Hadash MK Dov Khenin (Joint List) who said he would introduce a bill in the coming weeks to eliminate contract work in the public sector. “There are hundreds of thousands of workers without job security and fair work conditions,” Henin said. “It’s only fitting for the public sector to serve as an example for all bodies that hire contract workers and to stop the spread of the phenomenon.”