City workers face the axe in Kfar Saba

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
The city of Kfar Saba has officially warned its Municipal Workers' Committee that it will soon begin cutting staff, reports www.local.co.il. Two municipal workers were recently told they were no longer needed. According to the report, 2009 is shaping up as a tough year in Kfar Saba. A spokeswoman for the Municipal Workers' Committee said the city manager had informed her that the city needed to cut staff numbers, and that early retirement plans should be prepared for an unstated number of employees who were approaching retirement age. She said she hoped this would prevent widespread firings, but the city had not said how many employees it planned to cut or mentioned any specific names. The report said that a school maintenance manager and a Russian club manageress were recently told they were no longer needed, and their early retirement packages were being negotiated. City councilor Yuval Levy said the news seemed to fly in the face of the city's previous declaration that it did not intend to fire workers. He demanded that the city state clearly how many workers it intended to fire or force into early retirement, and how much their retirement packages would cost. A local Histadrut spokesman said the city's plan to encourage voluntary early retirement would be discussed, but the organization would oppose any firings of workers.