Strike Threat in Rehovot as Sabbath Dispute and Workers’ Row Intensify

Rehovot is bracing for a general strike on Tuesday after the municipal workers’ committee declared a shutdown, saying the city violated workers’ rights, withheld the workers’ committee budget and pushed unilateral moves by the municipality’s management. The timing is especially sensitive because Defense Minister Israel Katz is expected to make an official visit to the city, including a tour and a professional meeting at city hall.

At the same time, the Labor Court is hearing the city’s request for an injunction to block the strike. The ruling, expected soon, will determine whether municipal services continue as normal or are disrupted. Residents warned that a strike during Katz’s visit would be a major embarrassment for the city.

The labor dispute comes on top of an ongoing Sabbath controversy in Rehovot after Mayor Matan Dil decided to allow businesses on Herzl Street to remain open on Saturdays. On Saturday, Efi Ben Gad, the Degel HaTorah representative on the city council, wrote that these are days when those who value the Sabbath are silent, bite their lips and act where necessary, while Orthodox representatives continue to work on the issue under their rabbis’ guidance.

As part of the protest, workers blocked the mayor’s parking spot with tires. One flashpoint is a new rule requiring department heads and other officials with company cars to leave the vehicles in the municipal parking lot at the end of the day instead of taking them home. The workers say this harms employment conditions. The city responded that it will not yield to pressure, insisted it has operated with transparency and accountability for the past two years, said it already transferred 1.5 million shekels for Passover vouchers, and is willing to transfer the rest of the welfare budget if it is assured the money will benefit employees. It added that the committee is harming residents and municipal services by choosing strike action.