Histadrut unhappy with court ruling on strike

Sources identified with the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) today criticized the decision by National Labor Court President Judge Nili Arad to set the hearing on the Histadrut's petition to renew the strike on behalf of contract workers for January 8. The sources said that the late date was liable to weaken the Histadrut's bargaining position in the talks, which will probably resume in a few days.

Arad said that the Histadrut had until Thursday to submit a detailed statement on the scope of the strike that it wants to hold. In early November, she ruled that the Histadrut's previous strike on behalf of the contract workers was disproportionate.

Yesterday, the Histadrut petitioned the Labor Court to allow it to hold a strike immediately in view of the deadlocked talks with the Ministry of Finance and employers organizations. The ministry and organizations oppose hiring more than a few thousand contract workers as regular employees. Sources identified with the Histadrut said that employers were given enough time during the two months of negotiations.