A general strike was on the cards yesterday morning at Israeli ports.

The extent and length of the strike by the Histadrut, Israel’s trade union congress, and its effect on the ports of Haifa and Ashdod is unknown at the moment.

Port workers are protesting at a paragraph in the 2009 Economic Arrangements deal that approves the use of private contractors in the ports. This would give external operators greater responsibilities in the ports, which could threaten port workers’ jobs.

Operations at the two ports have slowed down substantially.

But a spokesman for produce shipper Agrexco told FPJ that its own sendings from the country would be unaffected. "As we have our own vessels we will have first priority and will leave on time," he said.

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