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El Al Grounded by Strike

October 19, 1979
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A dispute over a new labor contract grounded El Al today as maintenance workers and clerks walked off the job at midnight and said they would not resume their duties until 4.p.m. local time. Fifteen flights were cancelled and some 2500 passengers were transferred to other carriers.

The work stoppage, referred to by the employes as “sanctions,” stemmed from a disagreement over a clause in the new contracts that gives management the sole right of dismissal, The workers contend that they should be consulted before anyone is fired. Histadrut had sought unsuccessfully to postpone the walk out to allow further negotiations. Minister of Transport Haim Landau condemned the strikers for defying Histadrut. He called their action a “demonstration of power” in disregard of “the company’s difficult economic situation.”

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