Workers of Israel Unite!

The big strike is on, and rightfully so.

In several towns and villages salaries have not been paid for months.
Working municipal employees have been reduced to hunger, electricity cut-offs, and homelessness as banks repossessed their houses.
Not paying a salary on time is a crime, punishable by law.

Not paying salaries, or not paying them on time, or not paying enough, or not paying for all hours worked, has become very common, throughout the Israeli work force.

It is, very simple, completely unacceptable.

The poverty of some municipalities and local councils is not new and is related, in some cases, to irresponsible and even plainly bad management by mayors and well paid higher officials.
But employees should not be made to pay the price, whatever the reasons for the bad financial situation of the local governing institutions.

In many cases, poverty of the local councils is almost unpreventable: when there are very high unemployment rates, people are poor. They receive discounts or even exemptions from paying municipal taxes. In wealthy towns, there are industrial parks and office-towers and shopping centres, who pay business-rate municipal taxes, thereby supplying the municipalities with the needed financial resources for developing and providing services as needed. But many places are unable to attract well paying hi-tech ventures and industry. In fact. many traditional, labour intensive factories and workshops have been closed due to competition from factories and sweatshops in third world countries where horrid and degrading employment conditions allow for lower prices.

As a result, over time, poor towns become poorer, especially when they are not located in the centre of the country and do not attract industry. Small stores are closed, as a result of opening shopping centres outside of the municipal boundaries offering tough competition. Thus even less municipal taxes are paid.

In many Arab villages and towns, all land for developing has been disowned by the state or placed under the municipal responsibility of nearby (Jewish) towns and as a result, municipal taxes go to that municipality.

Whatever the reasons, hard working municipal employees should be paid their salaries. Period.