Strikes in Israel almost tripled in 2024 as compared to 2023, the annual Labor Ministry’s report published on Sunday found. In 2024, there were 25 full strikes, with approximately 251,000 strikers participating. These strikes resulted in a loss of manpower that equals approximately 762,000 workdays, the report stated.   In comparison, in 2023, there were only 16 full strikes, with approximately 73,000 strikers participating, causing a loss of approximately 266,000 workdays in total. Additionally, in 2024, there were only three partial strikes, in which approximately 80,000 strikers took part, as compared to 10 partial strikes in 2023, in which approximately 26,000 strikers took part.

An empty classroom at a school in Jerusalem, during a strike, on September 1, 2024 (Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Over half (56%) of all 2024 strikes were due to wage demands. This contributed to approximately 86% of all workdays lost to the economy in that calendar year. Approximately 12% of the 2024 strikes were related to labor agreements, including new agreements and failures to renew existing ones, 12% of strikes were due to violence against workers, about 8% were due to organizational changes, and the remaining approximately 12% were for reasons connected to employee dismissals, labor relations, and disciplinary issues.

The report noted that this increase is mostly due to labor actions taken by the Teachers’ Union, which continued over three school years, ending in September 2024, as part of a struggle to raise teacher’s salary. This is because 60% of all full strikes in 2024 took place in the education sector.

The full report on strikes in Israel (Hebrew):

https://www.gov.il/he/pages/strikes-2024

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32667