Government services were paralyzed today as an estimated 60,000 civil servants took what they termed “organized leave” for the day. The one-day strike was called to press demands for increased pay for the lowest grade of government employees. Post offices were closed, trains were halted, government offices were closed and radio and television silenced apart from news bulletins.
The only government offices exempted by the strike committee were those in the Defense Ministry. Hospitals maintained a skeleton staff and services were similar to those on Shabbat.
Civil Service Commissioner Eliezer Hochster pointed out that government workers had received increased pay same months ago, and he was prepared to entertain additional increases for the lower paid workers, but could not agree to the full demands of the strike committee. The government said all strikers today would have one day’s pay deducted from their next pay check.
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.
