Chairman calls Israel's minimum wage a 'starvation wage'
Israel's minimum wage stands at 4,300 shekels ($1,255 CAD) a month and the Histadrut — the umbrella organisation for hundreds of thousands of public service workers — is seeking a hike to 5,300.
Finance Minister Yair Lapid invited Histadrut Chairman Avi Nissenkorn and Zvika Oren, head of Israel's Manufacturers' Association for talks on Monday aimed at preventing a strike the Histadrut has set for Dec. 4 and would likely shut the airport, trains, seaports and government services.
National strikes cost Israel's economy an estimated two billion shekels a day.
Lapid, in a meeting with Nissenkorn on Friday, said he supports a rise in the minimum wage and helping those at the bottom of the wage scale.
He has said in the past that he would support a rise to 4,500 shekels a month. Economy Minister Naftali Bennett also has expressed support for a higher minimum wage.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Israel's real minimum wage was in the middle of the pack — 12th out of 25 countries in 2013.
This placed Israel well behind Australia, with the highest annual minimum wage at US$30,389, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, New Zealand, France, Canada, the UK and Japan.
But it was well above Mexico, the lowest at US$1,285, Chile, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, Poland, Turkey, Portugal, Greece, Spain, Korea and Slovenia.
Nissenkorn called Israel's minimum wage a "starvation wage" and said it was the country's main problem.
"I do not see government ministers or Knesset (parliament) members capable of surviving a month on 4,300 shekels," he said, adding that he would not accept a monthly rise of 200 shekels.
Oren said he favoured a hike in the minimum wage as part of a comprehensive agreement that reduces the employers' tax and allows for more flexible working hours.
He said he opposed a strike "because it does not allow for real negotiations".
The minimum wage was last raised by 200 shekels a month in October 2012.
