In Historic First, Foreign Ministry goes on Strike

by Shlomo Cesana

Foreign Ministry strike closes 103 diplomatic missions abroad, including at United Nations • Strike could cost Israel tens of millions of dollars • Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman: Strike is a miserable decision that displays a lack of sense.

     

The Israeli Embassy in London, closed due to the strike | Photo credit: AP

For the first time in Israel's history, the Foreign Ministry has gone on strike, closing all diplomatic missions abroad as well as the ministry's Jerusalem headquarters indefinitely.

A total of 103 Israeli missions are closed, including at the United Nations. Some 100 consulates and other lower-ranking missions will also remain closed.

The strike could cause political damage to Israel as a result of cutting off communication with diplomatic officials around the world. It also leaves Israelis abroad without official assistance. Workers are: cutting off communications with international organizations and influential officials worldwide; freezing public diplomacy efforts in the foreign press; not issuing passports or consular certificates; refusing to handle official state visits to Israel and abroad; and denying permits for secure exports, preventing international business. The Foreign Ministry has stated that it estimates the direct damage of the strike to the Israeli economy to be tens of millions of dollars.

The Jerusalem headquarters will be closed to all Foreign Ministry employees, including Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Director-General Nissim Ben-Sheetrit.

Worker demands include anchored wages and pay increases in line with the cost of living in the countries to which they are posted, addressing the issue of spouses' loss of employment, adjustment of pension plans, and appropriate compensation for executive branch employees.

Foreign Ministry Workers' Committee Chairman Yair Fromer said, "The Finance Ministry has declared an all-out war against the Foreign Ministry of the State of Israel. We will not accept the intolerable disregard of Finance Ministry officials, sabotaging the interests of the State of Israel."

Lieberman condemned the workers, calling the strike a "miserable decision that displays a lack of sense."

"We will do everything possible to minimize the damage being caused to the state and its citizens," he said.

The Finance Ministry said in a statement that "the Foreign Ministry Workers' Committee is holding Israeli citizens hostage and harming the essential interests of the state. The workers' committee refused to accept the solutions [offered], and abandoned the mediation process headed by retired Judge Steve Adler."

Shlomo Cesana

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=16339

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