Bus drivers announce warning strike over passenger violence

The Histadrut labor union federation announced Sunday it would hold a two-hour warning strike of all Egged bus drivers on Monday morning to protest violence against drivers.

The strike is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon on Monday, and will see all Egged drivers nationwide, on both inter- and intracity bus routes, walk off the job for the duration.

Avi Edri, head of the Transportation Workers Union, a member union of the Histadrut, warned the protest would expand to larger labor actions if the issue wasn’t dealt with appropriately by Egged and law enforcement authorities. “We decided to send a message to anyone who wishes to hurt drivers that we won’t let this violence rear its ugly head.”

“Public transportation drivers refuse to be the punching bags of violent passengers,” Edri said.

There has been a spike in violence toward bus drivers in recent months, most recently in an incident last week in Jerusalem in which the driver of a car attacked a bus driver after the two vehicles collided. Many drivers report racist comments and various forms of violent interactions with passengers on a nearly daily basis, the union said.

Egged, the nation’s largest bus operator, slammed the announcement on Sunday, saying the Histadrut had not coordinated the strike ahead of time and it would cause a great deal of harm to the bus-riding public.

“Egged believes this is not the appropriate way to deal with violence against drivers, a phenomenon we condemn and are working to prevent,” a spokesperson said. “We call on the Histadrut to reconsider this step and cancel the strike, which hurts passengers without cause.”

The company said it would call retirees and part-time drivers into service in a bid to minimize the harm from the labor action.