Israel's Postal Company will end a three-day strike Friday morning without an agreement, after the cash-strapped government-owned company agreed to enter a 60-day period of intense negotiations. The labor dispute centered over a reform plan that would lay off 2,000 workers. Thursday nights agreement also stipulated that Postal Company employees would “loan” the company 5% of their salaries to keep it afloat during negotiations. It would also restore overtime hours. The Postal Company had argued that year-on-year use of its service required massive cuts, a prospect which riled the Histadrut Labor federation. The Histadrut will play an active role in the negotiations, alongside the Finance Ministry and Communications Ministry.
(photo credit: The Jerusalem Post)