After a five-hour hearing last night, the Tel Aviv District Labor Court rejected the government's petition for an injunction against the striking nurses, on the condition that the nurses to switch back to the Saturday schedule from the emergency schedule. On the third day of the strike, the nurses intensified their strike by switching to the emergency schedule.
The court's decision gave a green light for the strike to continue today. Public hospitals will operate on Saturday schedules, and non-urgent treatments which require a nurse's presence will not be performed. Nurses at general clinics will not show up for work, and only a limited number of treatments will be carried out.
Judge Efrat Laxer also dismissed the Ministry of Finance's attempt to argue that no large pay hike may be granted during the election period, because no clear criteria were offered as to what constituted a reasonable pay hike, and what was unreasonable, ahead of elections.
Judge Laxer's ruling appears to be surprising, given the fact that the nurses launched their strike before the expiration of the binding period of industrial quiet, and since this is the same judge who sharply criticized the Knesset employees when they launched a wildcat strike. But previous rulings by the National Labor Court held that, in certain cases, it is permissible to strike shortly before the expiration of an industrial quiet period, if the parties are negotiating a new labor agreement. This period is known as the twilight zone, which is characterized by instability and uncertainty in labor relations, even though the industrial quiet period has formally expired.
The court's ruling may slightly embarrass Deputy Minister of Health Yakov Litzman, who said yesterday that a new labor agreement could not be signed before the elections.
Nurses Union chairwoman Ilana Cohen promised not to intensify the strike, and nurses will not abandon the wards.
Negotiations on a pay hike between the Nurses Union and the Ministry of Finance will resume today at 10 am.
During yesterday's court hearing, the government's counsel argued that the nurses were in breach of their collective agreement, which was valid until January. Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) representatives said in response that the Ministry of Finance had promised in writing to negotiate a pay hike for the nurses in September, so there was no violation of the collective agreement.
At a ceremony to mark the centennial of the Israel Medical Association last night, Litzman said, "The nurses are justified in their claims, and there is no doubt that their conditions and salaries should be improved. The nurses' job is critical, and we should help them. I will be happy to help in this, but there is a reality now which has to be taken into account and bring about an end to the strike and prevent the suffering of patients."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 12, 2012
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