Mapai Ministers in Premier David Ben Gurion’s coalition Cabinet are pressing behind the scenes for a general wage freeze commencing January 1, it was reported here today. It is understood they are facing sharp opposition from the left-wing Socialist and Achdut Avodah Ministers.
The present wage agreements call for automatic cost of living raises if the cost of living index rises a specific number of points in any quarter. Mapai Ministers insist that an immediate wage freeze is a must to keep Israeli goods competitively priced in world markets and to hold in check consumer purchases in Israel. They assert that this is a necessary first step to prevent the nation’s fiscal situation becoming critical in four years when large payments of German reparations cease.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
