November 2008 Update
TUFI’s monthly update looks at important trade union issues in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the Middle East Peace Process, regional developments, domestic Israeli and Palestinian affairs and primary issues affecting British trade union policy on Israel
Israeli Industrial News: Israel preparing plan to guarantee pensions after the Histadrut threatens general strike
Israel's Finance Ministry is due to submit a draft plan to the Attorney-General on 30 November outlining a safety net for fragile pension plans. The ministry has come under increasing pressure to provide some sort of guarantee for pension plans, which have been hit hard by the sharp fall in Israel's stock and bond markets in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Last week the Israeli government revealed a 21.7 billion shekel (£2.7 billion) economic stimulus plan to boost growth and employment, mainly through a number of infrastructure projects that would add more than 10,000 new jobs. But the plan fell short of hopes by trade unions to provide a safety net for pensioners and Ofer Eini, Chairman of the Histadrut (Israeli TUC), threatened to call a national general strike. Mr Eini said:
"Over the past few months we have been in talks with the Finance Ministry in an effort to find a solution to the problem, but without success… economists and the public believe that there is an immediate need for the implementation of a pension safety net, in particular for those who are nearing retirement age and are seeing their savings disappear." (23/11/2008)
Israeli Industrial News: Short-lived strike shuts Ben-Gurion airport and affects TUFI delegation
Hundreds of Israel Airport Authority (IAA) employees protested on Sunday 9 November opposite the organisation's headquarters after declaring a general strike at Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport. Employees said that the airport management had reneged on wage raises and agreements to treat 800 contracted workers as regular employees. The strike quickly ended when Ofer Eini, Chairman of the Histadrut (Israeli TUC), intervened to restart the negotiations after the airport management threatened to go to court in order to force the employees back to work.
A Trade Union Friends of Israel (TUFI) delegation of senior trade unionists was held up by the dispute when entering Israel. Steve Scott, director of TUFI, said: “We came here to learn about Israel’s strong and vibrant trade unionism, but we didn’t expect to witness it so soon… and first-hand!”
British Trade Union News: TUFI delegation to Israel and Palestine
TUFI took a delegation of eight senior trade unionists on a five-day fact finding mission to Israel and the Palestinian territories. The programme included: a tour of Jerusalem, briefings with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sessions with various Israeli union representatives and a visit to Ramallah to meet the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU).
The delegates left Israel upbeat and with a commitment to develop stronger links between their Israeli and Palestinian counterparts, encouraged by the recent positive co-operation between the Histadrut (Israeli TUC) and the PGFTU following their historic agreement signed in June 2008. Roger Lyons, Chair of TUFI, said:
“The improved relationship between the Histadrut and the PGFTU was in full evidence from the briefings we had. It is now important that the UK unions seize the opportunity to develop relations with their sister unions. The fact that any mention of boycott by all parties was absent really demonstrated how far we have come. However, we must not be complacent as there are those who are organised who would like to damage any relationship between Israeli, Palestinian and British trade unions”. (15/11/2008)
Israeli Industrial News: Israeli welfare minister plans to ease rules for receiving unemployment benefits
The Israeli Welfare Minister, Isaac Herzog, announced plans (13 November) to ease the rules for receiving unemployment benefits for low-income earners and residents living outside big cities.
The initiative will reduce the amount of time an employee needs to hold a position in a company in order to be eligible for unemployment benefit. Herzog said that “the conditions in Israel for receiving unemployment benefit are too strict” and hoped that easing the rules would help address the wave of dismissals now affecting the economic sector
Iran: Salesman put to death in Iran for passing nuclear secrets to Israel; Iran continues enriching uranium
Iran hanged an electronics salesman convicted of spying for Israel on 17 November. Ali Ashtari, an Iranian, was convicted in June of spying for Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. A video said to be of his confession was broadcast on TV. Iranian officials said Ashtari was recruited by Israeli secret services to intercept the communications of Iranian officials working in the military and its controversial nuclear programme.
An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report published on Wednesday (19 November) suggested that Iran may have stockpiled sufficient enriched uranium to produce a nuclear bomb. The IAEA believes that Iran now has 630kg of low-enriched uranium, which some experts believe is enough to manufacture a nuclear device. The United Nations Security Council has passed four resolutions in two years calling on Iran to put an end to its uranium enrichment programme.
Bookmark this page with: