Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon and Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) chairman Avi Nissenkorn have reached understandings that will end the labor dispute over the employment of contract workers. The general strike planned to start on Wednesday has consequently been called off.
Thousands of contract workers, Jews and Arabs, protested last Thursday, July 16, at the Habima Square in downtown Tel-Aviv as part of the struggle being waged by labor unions to reduce the number of contract workers being employed by public institutions. (Photo: Histadrut)
Kahlon and Nissenkorn began formulating the understandings after discussing the matter late into Sunday night, July 19. Their discussions resumed Monday morning, and eventually reached an agreement under which10,000 contract workers in the public sector will become full government employees within 4 years and 6,000 contract workers in the private sector will receive employee status.
Hadash MK Dov Khenin (Joint List) announced he would introduce a bill in on Wednesday July 22 to entirely eliminate contractual work in the public sector. “There are hundreds of thousands of workers without job security and fair work conditions,” Khenin 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.”
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