BICOM

In a surprise announcement, Ofer Eini, the chairman of the Histadrut labour federation resigned from his position yesterday following eight years in office.

Eini said, “After eight years as chairman of the Histadrut, I feel a sense of fulfilment and wish to embark on a new road,” adding “I feel a sense of exhaustion.” The Histadrut is a unified body of trade unions with a membership of around 800,000 Israeli workers across a wide range of industries. It has the power to call strikes in a number of public services. As such, the Histadrut wields significant influence on the Israeli economy and has launched a range of disputes this year over issues including port reforms, working conditions for nurses and redundancies at pharmaceutical giant Teva.

Eini pointed to a number of achievements under his stewardship, commenting “We’re the only workers’ union in the world where the membership is growing.” Speaking at the Histadrut’s Tel Aviv headquarters, Eini said that during his time in office, “the Histadrut successfully led historic measures in Israeli labour relations, including mandatory pensions for all workers, collective agreements for contract workers, and raising the minimum wage.”

Media reports suggest Eini recommended that the Histadrut’s Trade Unions Division chairman Avi Nissenkoren succeed him. However, if the Histadrut’s legislative assembly is unable to agree on Nissenkoren’s appointment, an election will be held. Labour MK Eitan Cabel, who was defeated by Eini for the Histadrut leadership last year, told Kol B’Rama radio, “I am going to do everything possible to be the next Chairman of the Histadrut.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned Eini to thank him for helping resolve disputes with the government over the years while Finance Minister Yair Lapid said that he and Eini had become friends despite their frequent disagreements. However, Meretz leader Zahava Galon accused Eini of having betrayed the Histadrut mission to protect workers for “a business-interest agenda.”