It seems Isreali social workers could show their colleagues here in the UK a thing or two about radical industrial relations.

According to Haaretz, social workers in Isreal are planning an indefinite strike with the aim of winnning a 35-40% pay rise and the inclusion of privately employed social workers in the collective bargaining unit. As far as I can tell, inflation in Isreal is currently about 3%.

And they're not pulling their punches in terms of impact on services:

Municipal welfare offices will not give assistance to at-risk children and teens, probation officers will not submit evaluations to the courts, and centers that supervise meetings between divorced parents and their children will be closed

The union is blaming any repercussions squarely on the government for its intransigence in the negotiations.

I don't know enough about the situation over there to know about the merits of their case but they're not messing about.

Read the complete post at http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/mental-health/2011/03/israeli-social-workers-go-for.html