Foreign Ministry labor spat keeps officials grounded

The work sanctions declared by Foreign Ministry employees two weeks ago to protest diplomats' salary terms nearly kept the director general of the Prime Minister's Office from flying to an event in New York, and may be to blame for Defense Minister Ehud Barak canceling a trip to Moscow.

The sanctions include a refusal to communicate with the PMO and the Defense Ministry or to render services to them.

When Foreign Ministry employees refused to give Eyal Gabai his diplomatic passport, kept in a ministry safe, he was forced to use his personal passport to attend a Nefesh B'Nefesh "mega event" this week.

Gabai used various means to pressure the ministry in hopes of attaining the release of his passport, including some undiplomatic shouting, and considered simply canceling his trip.

Barak was also affected by the labor sanctions, canceling a visit to Moscow scheduled for next Wednesday.

A source in the Foreign Ministry said that the ministry and the Israeli embassy in Moscow refused to cooperate with Barak's aides to make arrangements for the visit.

The source said that although meetings had been scheduled for Barak with senior Russian officials, the visit had to be canceled when it became clear that there was no way to reserve hotel rooms or coordinate with various Russian agencies.

Officials in Barak's office rejected the notion the cancellation was connected to the labor dispute in the Foreign Ministry, noting that Barak will go to Madrid on Monday and Tuesday as planned.

The Russia visit was originally scheduled for six months ago and was postponed several times as a result of Barak's request to meet with high-ranking officials, including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev as well as his Russian counterpart, Anatoliy Serdyukov, and top defense officials.

The Spain visit was not affected by the sanctions because the Defense Ministry representative who is stationed permanently in Madrid took care of all the arrangements related to the visit.

Aides to Barak said the Moscow visit was canceled so that he could attend the final session of the Knesset before its spring recess, in which the state budget, the planning and building law and other important issues are scheduled for deliberation.