Bethel Finance: Rail union breaks up talks

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Minister of Transport Israel Katz has announced that today's press conference, at which an "important announcement" about Israel Railways will begin at 4:30 pm, instead of 6 pm, as scheduled last night. The press conference was called after Israel Railways workers committee chairwoman Gila Edri broke up the negotiations between Railways management and the workers committee.

The final offer that Edri rejected included NIS 100 million in benefits and salary supplements to Israel Railways employees - which the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) and the Ministry of Transport had already agreed on. Despite Edri's militancy, Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini and Katz continued their talks on the issue today.

The rail workers committee said that they could not accept the amount reached between the Histadrut and the Railways management because of five or six points on which the workers committee would not compromise, headed by the outsourcing of rolling stock maintenance.

According to informed sources, last night's timing of the Ministry of Transport's announcement of a press conference was designed to put pressure on the Israel Railways workers committee. Its postpoment hinted at a last chance for negotiations between the Histadrut and the workers committee.

Meanwhile, rumors have spread that, at the press conference, Katz will announce the closing of Israel Railways, and that its management has begun taking practical steps to this end. One rumor claims that senior executives told branch managers to prepare a list of critical employees. Israel Railways denies that any such order has been given.

The background to the press conference is the talks on the dispute over rolling stock maintenance. The Israel Railways workers committee fiercely objects to outsourcing the maintenance, which has prevented agreement on reforming Israel Railways. Management and the workers committee are due to notify the Tel Aviv District Labor Court today whether they have settled the dispute, after the court granted the parties a two-week extension, during which the workers committee agreed not to launch strikes or sanctions.