Israeli Labor Disputes Plummet 88% in 2025, Violence Cited in 40% of Strikes

The Israeli labor market experienced a significant decrease in strikes during 2025, with a reported 88% drop in lost workdays compared to the previous year. Approximately 90,000 workdays were lost in 2025, a sharp decline from the 762,000 lost in 2024. This reduction represents a saving of about 672,000 workdays.

In addition to the decrease in strikes, the Ministry of Labor estimates that its intervention in labor disputes prevented economic damage totaling approximately 259 million shekels in 2025. The Ministry's labor relations unit mediated and resolved about 90% of the conflicts it handled, preventing them from escalating into strikes or other organizational actions.

Despite the overall decline in labor disputes, a notable trend emerged: 40% of the strikes that did occur in 2025 were a direct result of violence against employees. This indicates that a substantial portion of work stoppages were not related to traditional issues like wages or working conditions, but rather served as a response to workplace violence. The Ministry highlighted that employees in public-facing roles, such as educators, healthcare professionals, transportation workers, and public servants, are particularly affected.

Advocate Rivka Ravner, the Chief Labor Relations Officer, described the violence-related strikes as a "warning sign," emphasizing that violence in educational, health, transportation, and public service sectors cannot become normalized. She stated that preventing strikes involves negotiation and mediation to reach agreements without disrupting work continuity.

Ministry of Labor Director General Robi Shemesh added that professional handling of labor disputes not only facilitates agreements but also provides economic value to the economy, with the avoidance of escalation saving hundreds of millions of shekels, according to the report's estimates.