General Strike in Israel Still Planned for Wednesday

Histadrut Chairman Ofer Eini and Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz met on Tuesday and scheduled another meeting later in the day in attempts to avert a general strike that is threatening to shut down the economy, the government, and transportation hubs.

The Histadrut - the labor federation representing public sector workers in Israel - is demanding that the government hire contracted workers so that their conditions are on par with government employees. The strike will commence at 6:00 am.

"The only weapon workers have is the weapon of a strike," said Eini.

"The strike is unnecessary and would have enormous consequences on the economy," a finance ministry spokeswoman said. Estimates are that the strike will cause economic damage of around $500 million a day.