Civil servants protest unhealthy work environment at TA government complex
Haaretz
July 30, 2007
By Ido Solomon
Workers at the building housing the Tel Aviv branches of government offices will launch labor sanctions this morning, in protest over Finance Ministry delays in fixing a faulty ventilation system and other problems they say constitute health hazards. The 1,700 workers will come to work, but will not provide services to the public, nor answer the phones.
The sanctions will affect the offices of the Employment Service, Interior Ministry, Israel Lands Administration, Environment Ministry, Income Tax Office, Construction and Housing Ministry and Civil Service Commission.
Soon after the building opened in 2005, the workers began to feel the effects of air shortage, leading to a suffocating sensation and stinging and inflamed eyes. The problem is particularly severe because the windows do not open. The workers commissioned a professional opinion, which determined that the ventilation system was faulty.
The lack of air in the building also causes a stench originating in the parking lot to reach the highest floors.
The workers handed the report to the deputy directors general, but nothing was done. Sanctions held in the building six months ago ended with a promise of negotiations, but the problems were never fixed.
Similar safety and health deficiencies exist in other government buildings - and treasury officials are not doing anything about those cases either.
"The state is shirking its responsibility for the workers' health," charges Civil Service Union chair, Ariel Yaakobi. "The state must solve the problem or get the capitalist who built the building to fix the faults."
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/887440.html