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One Strike On, Another Ends

Ashkelon, Israel’s principal tanker port, was strikebound today as 70 workers demanded a pay hike. The strike which began yesterday paralyzed the port as well as the oil pipeline used by tankers to load or discharge oil offshore. One tanker was prevented from sailing and another was unable to dock. The workers are also demanding monthly advance work schedules so that they could plan their activities accordingly.

Meanwhile, communications technicians who ended a week-long wildcat strike Monday night, began repairing damaged equipment at telephone exchanges as newspapers denounced the strike which disrupted the country’s communications system. Haaretz compared the strikers to “hooligans in the streets” and complained that while hooliganism is fought by the police, the strikers are made partners to negotiations. Davar, the Histadrut organ, said the strikers had intended to pull out of the trade union federation but found out that only Histadrut was capable of finding a solution.