Israeli workers end general strike

An Israeli public service strike ended today after just eight hours, when the government agreed to pay local workers all their back wages.

The open-ended strike was expected to shut down most services including Israeli airports and seaports, but from the morning, as the two sides kept in contact, it appeared that it would not last long enough to do significant damage.

An indication that the strike was not as harsh as expected came from Israel’s airport, a traditional target of work stoppages. Most planes took off and landed more or less on schedule as an “exceptions committee” approved many flights.

General strikes in Israel encompass a wide array of services, and much of the country was paralysed. Government offices were shuttered, and state-run utilities operated on skeleton staffs, carrying out no repairs.

A Histadrut spokesman said as many as 150,000 workers throughout the country walked off the job.

After marathon talks with the government, the strike was settled.

“I am happy to announce that all the salaries will be paid today or tomorrow,” Union boss Ofer Eini announced.

“After all our demands were met I can announce the end of the general strike in Israel.”

Many bankrupt Israeli cities and towns have failed to pay their workers for months.

The labour union has threatened strikes several times in the past, backing down after promises from the government to cover the bills.

The end of the strike was good news for sports fans.

Several thousand English football fans are expected to fly to Israel for Saturday night’s game between their national team and Israel’s.