Poraz opens Population Registry offices to bypass sanctions

Interior Minister Avraham Poraz decided Wednesday to open up five Population Registry Offices on Thursday for special cases, despite on-going labor sanctions by public-sector workers, now in their third month. Poraz took the decision after conferring with the head of the Populations Registrar, Herzl Gedz.

The move will enable people who urgently need new passports, identity cards or to register real estate deals to do so.

Offices will open in Eilat, Be'er Sheva, Kfar Sava, Afula and East Jerusalem to enable people around the country access to the offices. The offices will only deal with people with extenuating circumstances, as decided upon by officials at the registry offices, rather than by the Interior Ministry's union as has been the case up until now.

The decision was taken after the Histadrut labor federation announced that it was stepping up the labor sanctions on Wednesday, thus blocking off even the limited access the public had had to the ministries and offices during three months of stoppages. Poraz said Wednesday, "I will no longer agree to the Histadrut doing what it likes and abusing the public without any restraint or a second thought." Back-to-work orders will be issued, forcing some Population Registry workers back into their offices.

Requests will be dealt with once they have been approved by the ministry's information hotline on 02-629477, or fax, 02-6294755. The line will be opened between 8 A.M. to 4 P.M.

Poraz says that his decision is part of his ministry's policy to work for the good of the public. He said that workers are coming in every morning, but are being prevented from doing their jobs by the Histadrut.

The Histadrut labor federation decided Tuesday evening to step up sanctions after negotiations with the treasury hit an impasse.

According to the Histadrut, moments before signing an agreement on ending three months of labor sanctions by government workers, the treasury retracted from the understandings the sides had reached, and returned to the position it held when negotiations started.

Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday evening announced he was canceling a planned meeting on Wednesday with Histadrut head Amir Peretz due to the stepping up of sanctions.

According to the Histadrut, in the initial phase of stepped up sanctions, the panels that discuss which special cases may receive the services of striking government offices would discontinue their work, although additional measures are also likely to be taken.

Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz issued back to work orders to essential ministry employees, after the workers union announced on Tuesday it would step up sanctions, and disrupt the import and export process of agricultural produce, Israel Radio reported.

Students go back to school Schools around the country reopened on Wednesday morning after a one-day strike on Tuesday. The heads of local authorities on Tuesday accepted Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to freeze the planned cuts in their education budgets, including cuts to the salaries of janitors and secretaries, in return for halting the school strike and returning to the negotiating table. The decision was made following a meeting between the heads of the local authorities, Netanyahu, and Education Minister Limor Livnat.

The Union of Local Authorities emergency headquarters met Tuesday evening to discuss the treasury's offer. Union chairman Adi Eldar said earlier in the day that he supported the proposal.

Schools closed throughout the country on Tuesday as local authorities protested a NIS 500 million reduction in education budgets allocated to local councils by the Education Ministry.

	Ministry of Education Director General Ronit Tirosh, called local council heads to leave the special education out of a planned strike. (Archives)