Israeli ships’ officers went on, strike today for the second time in two weeks, idling 12 vessels in Haifa and creating a new headache for the government. The maritime strike was on the agenda of today’s Cabinet meeting and the government presumably was seeking measures to end it.
The officers said they walked out in protest against lack of progress in working out contracts for 1972-73. They said the strike would not affect oil tankers and ships carrying security cargoes. But they warned that if no progress is made toward an agreement they would order officers to strike Israeli ships in foreign ports.
All of the struck vessels belong to the Zim Lines, Israel’s national shipping company. A Zim spokesman said today that the officers’ demands exceeded the government’s declared wage ceilings. Meanwhile, 5000 administrative workers of the various sick funds began a job action today in support of demands for back pay and threatened to call a three-day general strike of sick fund workers on April 25 if no progress is made.
The workers are refusing to issue documents and registrations but their action so far has not affected the medical care of sick fund subscribers. The workers are asking back pay of IL 75 per month retroactive to Oct. 1970. They claim that government hospital medical staff received back pay from that date while the sick fund staff were paid only from June, 1972.
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