Thousands of workers throughout Israel participated today in a one-hour warning strike protesting a Mapai decision in favor of a wage freeze during the coming year in return for a Government pledge not to increase taxes.
No accurate figure could be obtained on the exact number of workers taking part in the warning strike which was backed by Mapam, Herut and the Communists. Leaders of Mapai, the party opposing the strike, claimed that not more than 10,000 to 15,000 persons took part. Mapam and Herut, on the other hand, claimed that nearly 70,000 workers participated in today’s stoppage.
Police were alerted to possible clashes at the strike centers but no trouble developed. All strikers returned to their jobs after attending meetings during the tax’s idleness.
Yesterday, Aharon Becker, secretary-general of the Histadrut, Israel’s labor Federation, warned Mapam that the Histadrut would not yield to the pressures of the strike or of the various “workers’ committees” formed to oppose the almost certain decision by the labor federation to agree on a wage freeze.
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