Local authority strike to pause until Thursday ‘to allow progress in dialogue’

The ongoing municipality strike in protest of the state budget (which was passed on Friday), will be frozen until Thursday, according to a statement from the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel.

The statement was issued Sunday night, following a protest in the government precinct in Jerusalem.

According to the statement signed by federation CEO Shlomo Dolberg, the organization is set to meet next Thursday “for an extended management discussion to make decisions for the future,” but until then the protest will be halted “in order to allow progress in the dialogue with the government officials.”

What happened in the strike on Sunday?

On Sunday, dozens of garbage trucks lined Kaplan Street outside of the Prime Minister's Office as local authority leaders gathered in Jerusalem to decry the government’s negligence regarding the federation’s demands, which include building more classrooms, establishing a "property tax fund" to alleviate the effects of the housing crisis, and updating grants for socioeconomic balance and development.

“We bleed from crisis to crisis, in every field: from personal security, housing, transportation, a severe shortage of manpower, especially in education - and the list goes on. Instead of using the local government, which is the executive arm of the state — to provide all the resources that will guarantee the best service to residents, they are busy with how to weaken [that service],” read a statement issued by the Federation.

On Thursday, local authorities around the country — with the notable exception of Jerusalem — ceased carrying out standard authority services.

Federation of Local Authorities in Israel chairman and Modi'in Mayor Haim Bibas stated that he had held meetings and given warnings, but the finance minister did not show that it cared for his organization's demands.

“If the Finance Minister would have invested as many resources in conducting negotiations as it did in creating conflicts we would have an excellent education system,” Bibas said. “We held meetings and gave warnings. But the Finance Ministry does not care that hundreds of preschools are closing every day for lack of staff; it is not interested in the fact that children are studying in portable classrooms.”