Union may be near deal to end strike

The Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry and the Histadrut labor union are closing in on a possible solution to the general strike which came into effect Wednesday.

Minister Shalom Simhon was reported by Maariv saying that an agreement has been reached to improve the working conditions of contract workers to bring them in line with those of general salaried employees. The deal would not require companies or government offices to permanently hire contract workers.

Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini said the strike would be called off if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approves the agreement.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry has voiced opposition to the possible deal. As a way of satisfying the Histadrut’s demands, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz had previously suggested improving some aspects of contract workers’ conditions, but not making them comparable to those of general employees.

Improving the conditions of contract workers is the main demand of the union. In the run-up to the general strike, it had called for the direct hiring of all contract workers by government offices.