The container ship Zim Hong Kong sailed from Haifa last night, the first Israeli-flag merchant ship to put to sea in 80 days, marking the end of one of the longest and costliest strikes in Israel’s history. An agreement between the shipping companies and the seamen’s union was signed late Friday. But if Israel’s maritime communications are functioning again, its international air services remained grounded for the fifth day.
The El Al management suspended operations last Tuesday as a result of a wildcat work stoppage by maintenance workers and is demanding new, individual contracts with all employes.
The workers oppose this and are supported by Histadrut. They were joined by travel agents in applying to a Tel Aviv Labor Court for an injunction against management on grounds that the latter unilaterally and illegally broke its labor contracts. But the court refused to grant an injunction and set a new hearing in ten days’ time. It ordered the workers back to their jobs.
El Al has refused to lift the suspension pending new labor contracts. However, it has asked employes in its computer and reservations departments to return to work to facilitate the transfer of El Al passengers to foreign carriers.
ODD TIME FOR CRACKDOWN
The airline, which has been plagued by strikes and work stoppages for the past two years, chose an odd time to crack down, in the opinion of some observers. It suspended flights at the peak of the pre-Passover tourist season, inconveniencing thousands of would-be visitors from North America, Europe and elsewhere. No estimate has been made public of the losses sustained by the government-owned air line so far but they are believed to be tremendous.
Fear has been expressed that the El Al shutdown will affect the entire tourist industry which depends heavily on the Passover influx of visitors. It is also injuring El Al’s good will. A large group of Iranian students demonstrated at Ben Gurion Airport today demanding that El Al fly them back to Teheran before they miss class. But generally, stranded passengers have found seats on other carriers which have pressed jumbo jets into service to meet the sudden demand.
Histadrut, which has always supported management against wildcat strikes and work stoppages, says now that the airline is solely responsible for the present situation. El Al pilots hold the company’s director general, former Air Force Commander Mordechai Hod, to blame. They accused him of applying Air Force tactics–“destroy the enemy”– to a civilian company.
The settlement of the maritime strike holds out prospects for labor peace on that front, at least for the next six months. The seamen did not get the wage increases they had demanded and will not be paid for their 80 days off the job. But the agreement provided for an arbitrator to work out a wage settlement within six month and the sailors agreed not to strike for that period.
BROADCAST REPORTERS STILL OUT
Meanwhile, the blackout of news on radio and television continued for the second week. The Broadcast Authority has refused to be bound by the wage agreements that ended the newspaper strike a week ago. Broadcast journalists have demanded the same increases. In another area of labor strife, the teachers union warned that unless advance payments were forthcoming, it would call a strike of indefinite duration after the Passover holidays.
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