Flights resume at Ben Gurion Airport

Two-hour strike was called in solidarity with striking Eilat airport workers.

ben gurion station 298 (photo credit: Israel Railways Web site)
ben gurion station 298
(photo credit: Israel Railways Web site)
Flights out of Ben Gurion Airport resumed on Tuesday evening only two hours after its workers' union announced a strike in solidarity with striking Eilat Airport workers. The decision to end the strikes, both in Ben Gurion and Eilat Airport, was reached after the Histadrut Labor Federation asked the unions to try and reach a compromise by way of negotiations with the Israel Aviation Authority (IAA). Both sides are expected to meet on Wednesday. The strike in Eilat was called after the airport decided to employ subcontractors in security positions. According to the workers, IAA management violated contracts it had signed with its union. The authority harshly criticized the decision to strike, saying it would not give in to the extortion by the workers' union. The management of the IAA asked the Histadrut chairman to intervene. It had also threatened that it would ask the court to issue restraining orders, thereby forcing the workers to return to work.