Israeli union chief who mobilised public watches for next move from Netanyahu
▶ Peter Lerner says Histadrut is there for his country in its darkest hour, writes Thomas Helm in Jerusalem
Action against the Israeli government’s legal reform bill by Histadrut, the country’s biggest trade union, “brought results in less than 10 hours,” its international director Peter Lerner says.
“First, it was Ben Gurion Airport stopping departures on Monday. Then, municipalities and local authorities joined the strikes and then shopping centres.
“It was a systematic, co-ordinated effort that brought immediate results,” he says.
There were an estimated 700,000 people on the streets against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious legal overhaul.
The pressure forced the farright coalition government to delay the bill and begin negotiations with the opposition.
“Monday was a huge success for the union, who flexed only a little muscle to get what it wanted, without too many people paying the price,” Mr Lerner says. The strikes have been called off, after the government pledged to allow time for dialogue.
Mr Lerner says an intransigent government is solely to blame for the strike.
“Up until Monday, the union’s position had been that these political debates need to be solved around political tables with dialogue and discourse. But the events preceding Monday’s demonstrations were the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
He was referring in particular to Mr Netanyahu’s decision to sack defence minister Yoav Gallant, who publicly called for a halt to the reforms on Sunday evening, saying that they posed a “tangible threat” to Israel’s security as more armed forces members threatened to refuse duty in protest against the government’s plans.
“Just last week, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the US said that Iran is a few months away from a nuclear bomb,” Mr Lerner says.
Many others in the defence establishment were in favour of the strikes.
“Under the roof of Histadrut, all sectors of Israeli society gathered on Monday morning in our conference room, from business leaders to former generals and the former chief of the Shin Bet,” Mr Lerner says.
He viewed Monday’s events as a reminder of the centrality of trade unions in Israeli society, particularly in times of crisis.
“We were established in 1920 – 28 years before the state of Israel came into existence. Our movement was fundamental in laying the foundations for the country.
“There hasn’t been a general strike in many years. But that’s not because we don’t know how to or can’t. It is because we prefer to sit and negotiate good terms for workers.”
He also predicts a rise in membership. “Our numbers grow because we are effective in the collective bargaining agreements that we sign and the security that we offer our members,” he says. “I think yesterday’s action is an opportunity to make the trade union movement in Israel even broader.”
But he says power must be wielded with restraint.
“There is real power in unions, but strikes are still a very blunt weapon. They can be damaging, and need to be used with a high level of wisdom,” he says.
For now, Histadrut is closely monitoring the government’s next moves.
“We need to see if the promised delay and dialogue is going to happen. Remember, another general strike is always possible,” Mr Lerner says.