Finance Minister Yigal Hurwitz’s austerity budget passed its first reading in the Knesset by a vote of 56-44 yesterday and was sent to the Knesset Finance Committee where committee chairman Shlomo Lorincz of the Aguda Israel faction promised speedy action. The budget is expected to be approved by the committee in one month instead of the usual three months.
The budget sets a ceiling of 63.5 billion Shekels (IL 653 billion) on government expenditures during the 1980-81 fiscal year. Treasury sources announced after the vote that Hurwitz will meet shortly with Histadrut Secretary General Yeruhom Meshel and Avraham Shavit, chairman of the Manufacturers Association, to discuss wage policy for the coming year.
Hurwitz hopes to persuade the unions to extend the wage contracts that expire in April for another year. He has pledged to try to keep real wages steady through the periodic cost-of-living compensation, The Histodrut position has been negative so for but Meshel’s apparent willingness to discuss the matter with Hurwitz indicates some flexibility on his port,
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