The strike that was planned at the Ben-Gurion International Airport was canceled Friday afternoon.
The report came after Population and Immigration Authority workers threatened to strike on Sunday at the airport and the Allenby Crossing. The strike was canceled after agreements were made between Population and Immigration Authority representatives and the Finance Ministry.
The strike was originally set to take place between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. With its cancelation, the Allenby, Begin, and Rabin border crossings will continue to operate normally.
Some 50,000 travelers are reportedly set to pass through Ben-Gurion Airport at the beginning of next week, according to Channel 13.
In response to the threat of a strike, both Arkia and Israir airlines said they are monitoring the situation, and if there is a strike, efforts will be made to reschedule some of the planned flights during the strike hours. Both airlines will update customers based on the developments.
"Due to the low wages of authority employees, there is a severe shortage of manpower. Additionally, the new salary system further harms the already low wages, leading many employees to resign," the authority was cited as saying by Channel 13.
"Not only that, but authority employees also lack protective measures.
"As a result, authority employees who refuse entry to suspicious individuals may be harmed by those they deny entry to."
Talks are currently underway between the ministry and the Population Authority to find a solution to the issue, KAN reported. According to the union's threats, neither Israeli nor foreign citizens would have been able to leave the country at all had the strike went on as planned, the report added.
Before the strike's cancelation, the Israel Airports Authority warned of possible danger to dozens of Muslim citizens who are planning to leave the country for Jordan via the Allenby Bridge, as well as to other Israelis travelling to the Sinai Peninsula, who would not have been able to return to Israel on Sunday, the KAN report also added.
Interior Ministry vs. Transportation Ministry
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel responded to the threat of strike, stating, "The Director-General of the Interior Ministry, Adv. Ronen Peretz, and the Deputy Director of the Population and Immigration Authority, Mr. Naif Hino, are coordinating with the Treasury's wage supervisor and the Histadrut, working for many hours—up until the start of Shabbat—to prevent any harm to the salaries of border inspectors due to the transition to a new payroll system."
The Population and Immigration Authority is under the Interior Ministry.
Arbel's office added that the ministry will not allow any harm to "workers' salaries or employment conditions in accordance with the law.
"Subject to the emerging agreement, Israel’s border crossings will continue to operate to support the country’s prosperity both in routine times and during emergencies," the statement concluded.
Transportation Minister Miri Regev congratulated Arbel for his "handling of the crisis and for leading the talks together with the Finance Ministry that led to the strike's cancellation," Maariv quoted her as saying. "This is an important step that prevented serious harm to passengers, both Israeli and foreign airlines, and the Israeli economy."
Regev had initially reached out to Arbel, who is responsible for the inspectors, demanding his immediate intervention to prevent the strike. “We worked very hard to bring back foreign airlines! You are causing irreversible damage,” she said.
“I will not allow an act of extortion that seeks to harm hundreds of thousands of citizens and travelers! If this is not prevented, I will immediately advance a temporary order to transfer border crossing management to the Airports Authority, and later, I will promote legislation to transfer full responsibility to the authority. Border inspectors will no longer be under the Interior Ministry – all inspectors will belong to the Airports Authority,” she continued.
She concluded by emphasizing, “The days when power groups tried to take over border crossings through wild strikes are over. I am committed to ensuring the continuity of Israel’s aviation and transportation – we will not allow harm to citizens in the name of internal power struggles!”