Israel’s Histadrut Labor union has declared that it will launch a general strike later this week.
The strike will protest the fact that many local municipal workers have not been paid in months – with some not receiving their salaries for more than two years.
Government offices, ports, Ben-Gurion Airport, Israel Railways, Postal Services and Israel Military Industries will all be affected by the strike. Garbage will not be collected and parking tickets will not be given out. Past strikes have lasted weeks.

After meeting with senior labor leaders, Histadrut Chairman Ofer Eini refrained from offering full details of the strike, but said, “there will be drastic action later this week.”
Israel Railways workers held a one-day strike last Friday to protest the privatization of the railways. High school and junior-high school teachers held a strike the day before and the Electric company held a one-day strike the day before that, before being ordered back to work and the negotiating table until March 11.
A strike of Israel’s universities set to begin Sunday was called off at the last minute after negotiations with the Education Ministry yielded favorable results for the students and professors’ union.
Though bolstered by the striking mood of many of the sectors most affected by privatization reforms put forth by the Finance Ministry, the Histadrut insists that the general strike later this week is focused on the basic obligation of the government to pay its workers.
The demand was the same last November, when a strike was called and put into effect until the relevant government authorities seemed committed to solving the lack of paid salaries.
Finance Minister Abraham Hirschson said at the time that there was no reason to strike. "We have a clear outline of how to solve this whole issue of salaries," he told Army Radio. "I don't see a reason why we need this mess. We can solve the problem in a few days and thus prevent the suffering of many citizens."
An employee in one of the municipalities told Arutz-7 Hebrew Radio at the time, "How can it be that people go to work and don't get paid? This is the only way to stop it. There are workers who can't afford food. If the Knesset Members or the Ministers wouldn't get paid, the whole world would turn over."
A female municipal worker who had not received a paycheck in 25 months was interviewed by Army Radio Sunday morning. “How does one continue showing up to work?” asked the host. “If we don’t come, it is others who will suffer,” she said, “and I will lose my job. We have borrowed from all our friends and used up all our savings – we hope that this strike will be the last, but that it will actually bring about justice.”