Almost 6,000 engineers and architects in public services conducted by the Government and other public institutions went on strike here today, halting nearly all public works except enterprises conducted by the Defense Ministry.
The strike was called for higher wages, despite a personal plea by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who last night called leaders of the strikers to his offices here and requested that they stay on the job. Last-minute efforts to avert the walk-out were also made by Histadrut, the Israel Federation of Labor, and by leaders of the dominant Mapai party.
Representatives of the strikers had previously signed an agreement to accept the findings of a special committee established to probe their demands for higher pay. The committee consists of representatives of the Government and Histadrut. However, it was charged by the Government today, the strike committee withdrew from participation in the committee when it saw that the committee’s recommendations would not meet the wage demands.
Levi Eshkol, the Finance Minister, cabled from the United States, where he is visiting, a request that the Government and Histadrut take a “severest attitude” toward the strike, declaring that, for the sate of Israel’s ability to compete in foreign markets, it is essential to plan a large-scale social and Mapai party campaign against the methods adopted by the strikers.
The strike was reportedly put on the agenda of the next Cabinet meeting, to be held Sunday. The Government is considering steps to see to it that the country’s economy is not adversely affected by the walk-out.
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