25,000 Professionals in Israel Hold One Day Strike; Seek More Pay

Representatives of 25,000 professionals and technicians, who staged a one day strike against public institutions yesterday, said today that their Professional Coordinating Committee would meet tomorrow to plan further steps in their fight for more pay and special wage lists.

Despite last minute efforts by Mapai and the Histadrut, Israel’s Labor Federation, the professionals struck at sick fund offices and government dispensaries, hospitals, and secondary schools. Only engineers in essential services, such as the Electric Corporation and the Defense Establishment, stayed on the job.

There were no reports of contact between the Histadrut and the coordinating committee but hopes were expressed that such contacts would be made before the committee meeting tomorrow. Histadrut members among the strikers who said yesterday they would accept a proposal by Histadrut secretary-general Aharon Becker that their demands would be considered within two weeks decided at the same time to continue their support of the coordinating committee plans.

A split within the Histadrut over the strike developed today when it was learned that Zeev Hering, head of the professional workers in the Histadrut, resigned. It was understood he opposed a proposal from a special committee for a single wage list for the professionals, who are demanding special lists independent of general public servants’ lists.

Thirty news editors of Kol Israel, government radio station, this week went on a warning strike, silencing two news broadcasts, over their demands for equalization of working conditions with those of editorial workers in the daily press. The broadcasts were resumed the next day. The demands were backed by the Jerusalem Journalists Association and strongly opposed by the Civil Servants Union.