Trade and Industry Minister Eli Yishai said Sunday he will hold talks this week with Israeli business attaches from across the world and other professionals about the threat of a British boycott.

Speaking before a Knesset session, Yishai said the discussion would cover Israeli industry's response to a boycott.

The minister was refering to a proposal for imposing a boycott on Israel which the United Kingdom's public services union UNISON will consider during its annual conference in mid-June. This proposal followed the decision Wednesday by a British lecturers union to back a boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

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UNISON representatives who are in contact with the Histadrut labor federation have in recent days presented the Histadrut's international activities director, Avital Shapira, with a copy of the proposal.

According to the proposal, UNISON, which has some 1.4 million members, will urge other British unions to follow its lead and cut off all economic and cultural ties with Israel.

Histadrut sources said the impression they have received is that UNISON will vote in favor of the boycott. The conference will be held June 19-22 in Brighton.

If approved, the boycott would have a significant practical, and not just symbolic, impact, given that the union enjoys large economic influence in Britain.

According to Histadrut Chairman Ofer Eini, "this is a dangerous decision, because it could harm numerous workers in Israel and their employers, specifically in organizations that have commercial ties to Britain."