Angry opposition to the austerity economic program initiated by Finance Minister Yigal Hurwitz is mounting in Histadrut, in the Knesset and within the coalition government itself Responding to demands by an in censed rank-and-file of wage earnests, the Histadrut Central Committee announced yesterday that it will call a one-day general strike throughout the country. It set no date but one is expected to be announced this Sunday.
The labor federation is protesting against severe price hikes decreed by the government and Hurwitz’s one-year freeze on new wage agreements, both measures aimed at fighting inflation. Industrialists warned that a one-day strike would mean a loss of IL 3-4 billion in production and $40 million in exports. They said these losses would have to be borne by the workers. Some economists expressed surprise over the strike decision, saying that Histadrut knows well that certain painful measures are inevitable if inflation is to be checked.
YADIN ISSUES WARNING
Meanwhile, Deputy Premier Yigael Yadin warned that he will pull his Democratic Movement out of the government coalition if Hurwitz’s program affects “Project Renewal,” the massive slum clearance and rehabilitation project undertaken by the government in partnership with overseas Jewry.
Yadin was quoted as saying he was dismayed by Hurwitz’s failure to make a specific commitment to “Project Renewal” when he outlined his tough economic measures to the Knesset Tuesday. The Finance Minister stated bluntly that there would be a halt to government development projects, including the building of new schools and hospitals and the elimination of other public services.
According to Yadin, the riots in Jerusalem Tuesday night by Black Panthers and residents of poverty neighborhoods might have been avoided had Hurwitz given some assurance on “Project Renewal.”
A Knesset debate on the new economic measures was interrupted yesterday when Communist MK Charlie Biton, leader of the Black Panthers, committed a deliberate breach of etiquette. Taking the podium to urge the release of 20 persons arrested in the Jerusalem riots, Biton declared: “Nobody listens to the plight of the weaker strata, neither in the government nor in the Knesset. It is like talking to the wall.” Thereupon he turned his back on the chamber and continued his remarks “to the wall.” Furious Likud MKs walked out. The chairman of the session ordered a recess.
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.
