Labour action will continue until all wages are paid out. Employees are forced to ask neighbours and relatives for help. Ben Gurion airport is open only for English football team and its fans.

Tel Aviv (AsiaNews) – Israel's main trade union has launched a general strike which threatens to bring transport and public services across the country to a halt. The work stoppage began this morning at 9 am (local time) despite all attempts by the government to prevent it.

Histadrut, Israel’s main labour federation, has told its members to stay off the job because 3,700 public sector workers have not been paid for months. Approximately 400,000 have responded threatening all public services including sanitation, fire-fighting, buses and railways.

Sources told AsiaNews that the affected public servants have a hard time making ends meet, borrowing from neighbours and relatives just to feed their families in some cases.

Ofer Eini (see photo),  Histadrut secretary general, said that the strike would last till all wages were paid.

Within the trade union many think the government will meet their demands very soon.

Although public servants on strike are employed by local authorities, under Israeli law the country's Interior Ministry is ultimately responsible.

Israeli media have reported that the country has struggled for years with dysfunctional municipalities faced with allegations of mismanagement, cronyism and corruption. The central government has provided assistance but not enough to cover all debts.

This morning before the strike began Israeli Finance Minister Avraham Hirschson said workers would be paid in the next two weeks, so there was "no reason to paralyse the economy.”

Planes are not being allowed to land or take off at Ben-Gurion airfield, Israel’s only international airport, except flights from Great Britain to permit the English football team and its fans to land in Israel for a match against Israel scheduled for Saturday.

• israel
• general
• strike
• histadrut
• england
• team
• football
• unpaid
• wages