Histadrut
HaHistadrut HaKlalit schel Ha'Owdim B'Eretz Israel General Association of Workers in the Land of Israel (Histadrut) |
|
---|---|
purpose | Trade union confederation |
Chair: | Avi nit grain |
Establishment date: | December 1920 |
Number of members: | approx. 450,000 |
Seat : | Tel Aviv-Jaffa |
Website: | www.histadrut.org.il |
The Histadrut ( Hebrew for "union"), or HaHistadrut HaKlalit schel Ha'Owdim B'Eretz Israel ( הָהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַכְּלָלִית שֶׁל הָעוֹבְדִים בְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל- the "General Union of Workers in the Land of Israel"), is the umbrella organization of the trade unions of Israel . It was founded in Haifa by David Ben Gurion in December 1920, almost 30 years before the founding of the State of Israel .
Originally the Histadrut was Zionist - socialist oriented and built up comprehensive structures in the social sector. The activities went far beyond purely union fields of activity. The Histadrut founded, among other things, the largest health insurance company in the country ("Kupat Cholim"), old people's homes , rest homes and many cooperative companies. It also ran cultural and media facilities as well as the Hapoel sports association , from which numerous, later independent sports clubs emerged. The Histadrut also founded its own bank, Bank HaPoalim , with the help of the World Zionist Organization . For the first four decades after the founding of the state, the Israeli finance ministry allowed the Histadrut to invest their pension funds in their own holding company, Chewrat Owdim , which enabled them to ensure a steady flow of capital. About 30% of Israeli workers were employed in the Histadrut area in the 1960s. Through the combination of health insurance and union membership, up to 70% of adult Israelis were also at times unionized, which gave the Histadrut considerable influence in the country.
For a long time the Histadrut was close to the Labor Party , which in turn had considerable influence. In 1994 the Histadrut was completely rebuilt after previous structural crises. In addition to the dissolution of many union companies, the health insurance company and the remnants of the Israeli public economy (Chevrat haOvdim) were separated. For the first time this year , the Mapai could not win the internal elections, which take place every four years, with an absolute majority. In 1995 the association was renamed New Histadrut . Its chairman, Amir Peretz , founded his own party ( Am Echad ), which was represented with two seats in the Israeli parliament .
After these changes, the Histadrut mainly has tasks as a union in the Western European sense, it negotiates wages, but is also the umbrella organization for the individual unions. It is a member of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and cooperates with the DGB, among others .
There are approximately 450,000 members.
See also
literature
- Manuela Maschke: The Israeli workers' organization Histadrut: From the state within the state to an independent trade union . Haag + Heerchen, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-89846-251-X
- Theo Pirker : The Histadrut. Union problems in Israel , Kyklos-Verlag, Basel and JCB Mohr (Paul Siebeck) Tübingen 1965
Web links
- Own homepage (Hebrew)