El Al air crews and Israeli journalists have postponed strikes which were to have begun today. The flight crews called off a scheduled 24 hour walkout to permit negotiations over wage problems arising from the new tax reform measures to continue without pressure. But they said they would call a strike again if no progress is made within 10 days.
The journalists, representing newspapers, radio and television, agreed to a two-month hiatus during which committees representing newsmen and publishers would try to iron out their problems also related to the tax reforms. The journalists are objecting to the inclusion of their expense accounts — the use of cars and telephone calls — as part of their taxable income.
The El Al flight personnel, who are paid part of their wages in foreign currency, demand that the air line compensate them for the higher taxes they will have to pay due to the devaluation of the Israeli Pound relative to foreign currencies.
WILDCAT STRIKE PARALYZED AIRPORT
But El Al, which has been plagued by labor strife for the past year, did not escape unscathed. A wildcat strike by porters and baggage-handlers paralyzed Ben Gurion Airport Friday. The strike ended this morning but only after fist fights between porters and police. The strike began after police arrested a porter on suspicion of theft from a Turkish airliner. The man was subsequently released for lack of evidence. The result was that baggage was not put aboard outgoing flights and incoming passengers were unable to get their luggage off their planes.
Some sources said the arrest was only a pretext for the walk-out which has been brewing for some time. The porters are demanding higher wages in view of the new no-tipping regulations at Ben Gurion Airport. Many of the porters are new immigrants from the Soviet Union. Some of them shouted at police, “Stalin couldn’t crush us and neither can you.” The strike cost an estimated IL 2 million.
Although the porters resumed work today, the airport management suspended seven of them for two weeks on grounds that they had instigated the strike and attacked airline employees trying to move baggage to and from the grounded planes. The management’s action was approved by the airport workers committee and the Lod workers committee.
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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.
