Israel Railways employees threaten general strike

Israel Railways employees on Tuesday threatened to launch a general strike and halt most train operations if the corporation’s board of directors makes good on a recent decision to begin issuing bonds and minority stocks to the public starting Wednesday.

Workers’ union representatives at Israel Railways charged that the board intended to advance the privatization of the company through the issuing of bonds, and said such a move would put employees at serious financial risk by casting doubts on their future job security, the Ynet news outlet reported.

According to Israel Radio, the Israel Railways board expected to make a profit of NIS 2 billion (about $511 million) by implementing the move. Board members have stressed in the past that gains from the bonds would be allocated toward the development of infrastructure.

In October, the Knesset’s ministerial socioeconomic cabinet approved a decision to fully or partly privatize a number of state-owned companies such as Israel Railways, in a move aimed at boosting efficiency, reducing the national debt and fighting corruption.

According to the Finance Ministry, the move was expected to add NIS 15 billion ($4.07 billion) to state coffers over the next three years.