After a stormy five-hour meeting last night, the Council of the Haifa port workers decided to reject a call from the Histadrut, Israel’s labor federation, to return to normal work operations and thus end a five-week slowdown which has crippled port operations.
The Council decided to continue the slowdown until all its demands, including a substantial wage boost, were met. It also agreed to call “within a few days” a general meeting of the 1,600 dockers to decide whether to accept the Histadrut’s suggestions.
Dozens of ships remained tied up in the harbor, awaiting their turn to be unloaded. Shipping lines operating between Haifa and Scandinavian countries gave two weeks’ notice of intent to impose a surcharge, effective June 13.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
