Ashdod port workers win privatisation reprieve

The controversial privatisation of Israeli port Ashdod has been put on hold. The privatisation plans, which have sparked numerous strikes, need the approval of the local workforce which the government now acknowledges it is unlikely to get so has put the process on hold indefinitely.

Haifa, the country’s other big port, is being privatised, albeit after much worker militant action. The decision to bring on a strategic investor into Haifa was finally agreed earlier this month.