Mapai Ministers in Premier David Ben Gurion’s coalition Cabinet are pressing behind the scenes for a general wage freeze commencing January 1, it was reported here today. It is understood they are facing sharp opposition from the left-wing Socialist and Achdut Avodah Ministers.
The present wage agreements call for automatic cost of living raises if the cost of living index rises a specific number of points in any quarter. Mapai Ministers insist that an immediate wage freeze is a must to keep Israeli goods competitively priced in world markets and to hold in check consumer purchases in Israel. They assert that this is a necessary first step to prevent the nation’s fiscal situation becoming critical in four years when large payments of German reparations cease.
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