Railway workers call wildcat strike

Israel Railways workers committee and the Histadrut, General Federation of Labor have called a wildcat strike as part of their struggle against the company's management. All trains will stop running from late tonight until further notice. The last train before the strike begins will leave Modiin at 11.04 pm tonight.

The strike comes after Israel Railways management today filed in the Tel Aviv District Labor Court for contempt of court against its workers committee headed by Gila Edri, and the Histadrut. Management charged that workers severely disrupted services this morning despite a previous court order not to implement sanctions.

The workers committee and Histadrut put out a joint statement which said, "Israel Railways management insists on continuing its destructive policy of trampling employees' rights and exploiting their weakness. The management refuses to hold talks for the signing of a collective agreement. Israel Railways has over 600 employees earning a meager salary and forced to receive social benefits to make it up to the minimum salary. The railways management, instead of worrying about its employees and enabling them to have proper employment conditions, has signed agreements with contractors to make Israel Railways a stronghold for contract workers."