It is not worth losing a passport abroad: A dispute between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance affects the renewal of passports at foreign ministry missions around the world. The reason: sanctions by Foreign Ministry employees as part of a labor dispute that erupted in the face of a dispute over improving their employment conditions.
In fact, the renewal of passports for Israeli citizens is no longer possible at the Israeli mission in Miami and now warns that the sanctions of Foreign Ministry employees are reaching other Israeli embassies around the world; Representatives in Munich, Germany, and in Canberra, the capital of Australia, report that from now until the end of the conflict at the Foreign Office, no new passports will be issued. The Foreign Ministry expects that during the week passports will run out at other missions in Europe. Requests for renewal or issuance of passports will not be answered until the end of the workers’ sanctions.
The Israeli Consul in Australia, Nir Reubinoff, pointed the finger at the Ministry of Finance “Abusing Foreign Ministry Employees” by claiming in a statement issued by the Consulate that “the Ministry of Finance is harming us and harassing all Foreign Ministry employees.” And that there will be no new stock until the sanctions end. ”
On behalf of Oshrat Shemani, the Israeli Consulate in Munich, it was stated: “I and all my friends went out to serve the country overseas out of a sense of mission. But we are in sanctions because we have no choice. I have to update Passports for Israeli citizens. ” Eli Gil, the Israeli consul for consular affairs, made similar claims: “Foreign Ministry employees are abusing and harming us in every way possible, so we are forced to announce with sorrow that the consulate in Miami can no longer issue passports. We have no doubt This is the result of the opaque finance policy, whose harm to the Foreign Ministry continues. ”
The Ministry of Finance states that “it is not clear to us what kind of conflict this is.” The ministry stated that “In November 2021, the Ministry of Finance signed the package deal with the new Histadrut, under which it was agreed that there will be no wage increase for 2022. These agreements are also binding on Foreign Ministry employees represented by the Histadrut. In the public sector, the average salary of the emissaries is over NIS 30,000 a month. The best international book in the world at an annual cost of tens of thousands of dollars per child and many other benefits. ”