New crisis in Israel Railways: The workers’ committee informed the management that from Sunday until further notice, a resident of the cargo division will be active. This is what Ynet learned tonight (Wednesday). .
Negotiations between management and employees have been going on for several months amid the labor dispute that has been declared due to the entry of electric and more efficient trains. Due to the Histadrut elections, the committee, headed by Gila Edrei, delayed contacts with the management. Edrei accuses Railway CEO Micha Meiksner of not attending a discussion on the issue today, even though the deputy CEO and several VPs came to represent the management.
“In light of your continued disregard for the negotiations, the continued severe damage to about 1,500 workers injured each month due to the electrification, your evasion of scheduling meetings in a pre-determined forum, the dispute over the height of the basket, the contents of the basket and more, the company will take further steps,” Edrei informed management. In addition to disabling the freight trains, it was decided to stop the work of the wing inspectors, but the drivers will continue to report for work as usual.
In addition to the economic damage to the train, the imminent shutdown will increase the congestion on the roads due to the need to transport in trucks the 4,000 containers that the train transports daily. In some cases, these are dangerous goods, which can be transported away from the public by train.
But beyond the increased risk of such accidents, the addition of trucks will also increase the risk of road accidents and air pollution on the roads. According to the Green Light Association, trucks involved in fatal accidents are three times higher than their share of vehicles in the country, and the transfer of cargo from trucks to trains was supposed to reduce the carnage on the roads, while about 60 people are killed in accidents involving heavy vehicles.