Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein rules out an order extending the rise to the private sector in an election period.
Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein has given the green light to the state to continue conducting negotiations on raising the minimum wage in the public sector. In a decision published today, Weinstein explains this by the fact that even before the election period began, the representatives of the state and of the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) had agreed on an amount of NIS 5,000 monthly. Nevertheless, Weinstein does not agree to the schedule for raising the minimum wage. He also rules out setting the minimum wage at 52% of the average wage, saying that this needs to be done through legislation after the election, since it involves long-term consequences. "I do not see how talks can take place and binding decisions can be made at this time, at the height of an election period," Weinstein says.
Weinstein also opposes an extension order leading to a rise in the minimum wage in the economy as a whole in an election period. "The Minister of the Economy's request to exercise his authority and announce his intention of expand the collective agreement to both the public and private sectors has been brought before me. My position is that there is no room for doing so at this time," Weinstein wrote.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 25, 2014
Yehuda Weinstein picture: Eyal Yitzhar