Five-day strike in Israel ends

JERUSALEM - Reuters

People wait at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport during a strike last week. REUTERS photo

An Israeli public sector strike that has disrupted public transportation and closed banks, the stock market and government offices ended yesterday with a new wage package for low-earning contract workers.
The Finance Ministry announced the deal with the Histadrut labor federation, which declared that the strike that began on Feb. 8 was over.

The Histadrut had demanded the government hire 250,000 contract workers, such as cleaners and security guards, whose conditions are inferior to those directly on government payrolls.

Under the deal, those workers will not be hired by the state. Instead, they will get pay raises, be eligible for merit bonuses and their pension plans will be improved, according to the ministry statement.