The transport workers’ union demanded that the government remove from the bill on regulating the national economy for 2026 the clauses on the privatization of the Rakevet Israel railway company and the transfer of additional airports to private hands.
On Sunday, November 23, the head of the transport workers’ union, lawyer Eyal Yadin, sent letters to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is promoting privatization, and to Transport Minister Miri Regev, with whom The Marker reported that the move had not been agreed upon.
Eyal Yadin, in particular, wrote that the decision to privatize was made on the basis of incorrect data and ignored the fact that over the past decade there has been an increase in the flow of passengers on the railway, trains run with greater accuracy and the number of failures has significantly decreased, which has increased the reliability of this mode of transport. He noted that the previous attempt at privatization on the railway led to an increase in the number of failures and high budget costs for the state. At the same time, he adds that a similar picture is also observed in other countries where the privatization of railway lines was carried out.
“The accumulated experience in Israel and the world demonstrates that privatization of national infrastructure is not a solution to deep problems, but a recipe for harm to society,” he wrote.