The dispute between the colonists in Kfar Saba and the Histadruth, General Federation of Jewish Labor, may be resumed as a result of the failure of the joint commission appointed by the colonists and the Histadruth to reach a modus vivendi. The trouble started two weeks ago when the Histadruth workers in the colony opposed the admission of 25 B’rith Trumpeldor workers invited by the colonists because the B’rith Trumpeldor workers declined to register with the Labor Bureau.
The colonists insist that the Labor Bureau be conducted by a neutral person, to be appointed by the Zionist Executive or the Vaad Leumi, while the Histadruth opposes this. The colonists feel that the Labor Bureau should only distribute the work, while the Histadruth wants the Bureau to fix prices and supervise the work. The Histadruth also opposes the colonists’ demand that they be free to engage and dismiss workers. The disputants are in agreement on an eight hour working day and a wage of eight shillings daily but there are other differences.
When the dispute first arose April 9, police intervention and the attempt all arbitration by Moses Smilansky, an old time colonist, and Aaron Hankin, a prominent land agent, were futile Twenty-five of the B’rith Trumpeldor workers who refused to register with the Labor Bureau because they oppose a class war and advocate a national labor bureau, were removed from the colony by Histadruth workers. The following day the trouble took on a serious aspect when police arrested three leaders of the workers’ council, including the secretary of the Kfar Saba colony.
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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.
