Labor federation threatens general strike over work safety standards

The Histadrut labor federation on Thursday warned that it would call a general strike next week in protest of what it said was the government’s failure to address worker safety, particularly in the construction industry.

Histadrut chairman Avi Nissenkorn said an open-ended strike would be called next Wednesday unless the federation’s demands were met for safety issues to be organized in a collective agreement.

Workers at government offices, local authorities, banks, emergency services, airports and many organized employees in the private sector would participate if the labor action goes ahead.

The Histadrut says political leaders and employers have failed to suggest immediate measures to improve worker safety since the federation issued a mandatory 15-day warning ahead of calling a strike.

“The government doesn’t care — for two months I have been calling on it to discuss the matter,” Nissenkorn said at a press conference held at Histadrut headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Thirty-seven construction workers have died at building sites this year so far, and two passersby have also been killed, according to a Facebook group documenting accidents at building sites. The group says 25 workers were killed over the same period last year.

The Histadrut demands a number of steps be taken to improve safety, including making the European standard for scaffolding obligatory, enforcing obligatory use of a safety harness, the regulation of cranes, and the addition of a mandatory safety clause to tenders for state construction and infrastructure.

“Two months ago now we notified about the planned strike and asked to resolve the issue — but everyone passes it on to someone else,” Nissenkorn said. “What did they come into public service for, to toss issues at others’ doorsteps or to take action?”

Welfare and Labor Minister Haim Katz, speaking at the Knesset, gave his support for the strike.

“I hope this won’t just be a warning strike,” he told the Knesset plenum. “They should strike until we get from the Finance Ministry the 108 [civil servant] positions needed by [my] ministry for supervisory purposes.”

In response to Katz’s comments, the Finance Ministry claimed in a statement it had already made 100 positions available, the Walla website reported.

Haaretz reported last month that the rate of deadly work accidents in Israel’s construction industry is more than double the average in the European Union.

According to the report, there are only 18 construction site inspectors in the country, while European standards would require 360 for a similar number of sites.