Eini: Finance Ministry's failure to pay municipal salaries violates court order.
By JPOST.COM STAFFofer eini 88 298(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Finance Ministry officials were due to present their solution to the problem of the as-yet unpaid salaries of local council employees in the National Labor Court on Thursday. The Histadrut said that if the salaries were not paid immediately, a general strike would be called for as soon as next week.
Last week, the National Labor Court forestalled an extended general public sector strike and ordered the ministry to pay the municipalities by Thursday. The order said the ministry would be required to appear before the court and present a list of the institutions that would receive their money.
While the salaries remained unpaid as of Wednesday afternoon, Finance Minister Avraham Hirchson gave his word that the ministry would find a way to solve the financial crisis.
Histadrut Chairman Ofer Eini reckoned that a continuation of last week's day-long strike was unavoidable.
Eini said Wednesday morning that he was loath to resume the strike, but that if the state did not fulfill its obligation to pay its workers, he would most likely declare the strike anew.
"I'm not optimistic," Eini said of Thursday's anticipated court meeting, "because I know the facts and see how the state representatives have been managing [the issue] over the course of the week."