JERUSALEM, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Foreign Ministry employees will resume work on Thursday after a four-month-long strike, a ministry official told Xinhua on Wednesday.
The strike will come to an end after the Finance Ministry reached an agreement with the Foreign Ministry employees to enter a mediation process in hopes of resolving the long dispute. The compromise was made due to the intervention of the District Labor Court.
Israeli Foreign Ministry employees embarked on the strike in March, protesting the condition of the ministry's workers abroad and claims of improper conduct. Other than the erosion in their salaries, they also protested what they called the "dismantling" of the office, which does not have a supervising minister.
Following the Jan. 22 elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not appoint a foreign minister (only a deputy- minister), reserving the seat to former Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is currently standing trial over charges of fraud and breach of trust.
The workers also claimed that the treasury and the government were ignoring their demands and were not interested in negotiating with them.
Among others, the workers refused to issue diplomatic passports to ministers, shut down cable communication between Israel's missions across the globe, and refused to arrange formal visits of ministers and lawmakers abroad.
The Foreign Ministry employees welcomed the Labor Court's decision to intervene in the strike.
"The treasury has thus far refused to go to mediation or enter negotiations with the employees. We welcome the judge's decision .. . who forced the treasury to enter the mediation process," employees said in a response letter.
Deputy Foreign Minister Ze'ev Elkin also welcomed the decision and expressed hope that "the mediation will resolve the issue of the employee's working conditions."
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