Public sector 11pc wage raise, 40-hour week approved

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Histadrut (Trade Unions Fed) leader Arnon Bar-David Thursday sealed a new pact granting an 11pc pay rise for public sector employees, a 40-hour working week, a NIS6,000 ($1,640) one-time grant and a revised wage scale for kindergarten aides. The deal was signed after Bar-David advised the minister: “Let’s stop what’s going on in the street. I expect you to make the effort to induce calm.”