JERUSALEM, March 21 (UPI) -- Some 400,000 public sector workers staged a general strike in Israel on Wednesday, shutting down airports, rail and sea ports over unpaid wages.
Overnight talks collapsed between government negotiators and the Histadrut union, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Union President Ofer Eini told reporters the government had failed.
"The prime minister promised to find a full solution ... We have waited for three weeks, but, unfortunately, even now no solution has been reached," Eini said. "Meanwhile, 3,758 workers in 36 local councils and 16 religious councils haven't received their salaries. It is time to erase this disgrace."
The state is arguing in the National Labor Court the strike is unjustified given that only 10 local authorities and three religious councils had yet to receive state funds to pay their employees by Tuesday, Haartez reported.
Government special education workers were excluded from the strike but virtually all other ministries were closed to the public, the report said.
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Mer 21 Mar - 23:47
