Around 2,500 dock workers at the Israeli ports of Haifa, Ashdod and Eilat began a strike yesterday after reaching an impasse on wage negotiations with the government, according to Israel’s Histadrut labour federation.
A week-long strike would cost the economy some Shk400m (€85m), the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce said.
However, Agrexco, the country's leading agricultural exporter, revealed today that it had been given an exemption from the strike.
'Agrexco has instructed all its growers to continue harvesting the seasonal fruits and picking peppers and tomatoes from the Arava region,' the company said.
According to the company, 29 ships are currently waiting outside the ports, 16 outside the port of Ashdod and 13 outside the port of Haifa.
Histadrut said that it would hold talks with government representatives tonight in a bid to resolve the strike.
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