The British-controlled Consolidated Refineries, Ltd., has alerted some 50 of its officials and experts, who are standing by on Cyprus, to be prepared to return to Israel for the purpose of setting the huge Haifa Refineries in operation again, it was learned here last night.
The return of these British technicians is contingent on signing of a new oil agreement between Britain and Israel, which will supersede the agreement made July 29 last year. That agreement provided that the Israelis would not attempt to operate the refineries on condition that the Consolidated Refineries could supply all the refined oil required by Israel for domestic consumption.
The British are apparently hopeful that they will convince Iran and Trans Jordan to permit the resumption of the flow of crude oil through the pipeline which runs from Kirkuk through both countries to Haifa. The recent meeting between King Abdullah of Trans Jordan with the Iraqi regent, Crown Prince Abdul-Ilah, which was held significantly at an oil-pumping station on the Iraq-Trans Jordan frontier, was reportedly engineered by the British, who are most anxious to resume the oil flow.
If the two countries are reluctant to reopen the pipeline, fearing that some oil may get into Israeli hands, the British now “appear determined” to reopen the ######ing plant regardless, and to bring the crude oil to Haifa in tankers “from ##### of the globe,” according to one report from Haifa today.Meanwhile, the Israeli Interior Ministry announced that it is preparing a plan for arbitration in all labor disputes. Under the proposed plan, disputants in a labor arbitration case would be required to report their dispute to the government and conduct negotiations before they resort to more drastic action.
Although the Histadruth. is strongly opposed to a compulsory arbitration law, it will agree to such a law provided it deals only with disputes which occur during the life-time of a collective bargaining contract.
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