El Al, Israel’s national airline, faced a general strike tonight that could result in its shut-down and reorganization. The latest crisis for the money-losing carrier erupted when dismissal notices were sent to six members of the maintenance workers committee who had called a four-hour work stoppage yesterday.
Histadrut leaders and El Al top management were closeted in discussions today of how to avert a strike. The labor federation apparently wants the dismissal notices cancelled. The airline’s board chairman, Avraham Shavit, said he was “optimistic” that a solution would be found. But he charged that the company’s operations were being disrupted by a group of “hot-headed extremists.” The maintenance workers called their stoppage yesterday on grounds that the government failed to provide the funds it had promised to tide the airline over its financial difficulties.
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.
