Histadrut
Encyclopedia
HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael , known as the Histadrut, is Israel's organization of trade union
s. Established in December 1920 during the British Mandate for Palestine, it became one of the most powerful institutions of the State of Israel.
to look out for the interests of Jewish workers. Until 1920, Ahdut HaAvoda
and Hapoel Hatzair
had been unable to set up a unified workers organisation. In 1920, Third Aliyah
immigrants founded Gdud HaAvoda
and demanded a unified organization for all workers which led to the establishment of the Histadrut. At the end of 1921 David Ben Gurion was elected as Secretary. Membership grew from 4,400 in 1920 and to 8,394 members in 1922. By 1927, the Histadrut had 25,000 members, accounting for 75% of the Jewish workforce in Mandatory Palestine.
The Histadrut became one of the most powerful institutions in the state of Israel
, a mainstay of the Labour Zionist movement and, aside from being a trade union, its state-building role made it the owner of a number of businesses and factories and, for a time, the largest employer in the country.
Membership in 1983 was 1,600,000 (including dependants), accounting for more than one-third of the total population of Israel and about 85 percent of all wage earners. About 170,000 Histadrut members were Arab
s (who were admitted to membership starting in 1959). In 1989, the Histadrut was the employer of approximately 280,000 workers.
With the increasing liberalisation and deregulation of the Israeli economy since the 1980s, the role and size of Histradrut has declined, though it still remains a powerful force in Israeli society and the nation's economy.
as well as the country's largest bank
, Bank HaPoalim
. The Histadrut also provided a comprehensive health care
system, Kupat Holim
Clalit
.
In the first year of its existence the Histadrut lacked central leadership, and many initiatives were taken at the local level. This changed after David Ben-Gurion became appointed in the General Secretariat. Ben-Gurion wanted to transform the Histadrut into a national instrument for the realisation of Zionism. According to Zeev Sternhell
Ben-Gurion's exclusive commitment to this goal is illustrated by a December 1922 quote:
Ben-Gurion transformed the Histadrut in a few months. He set up a well-defined hierarchy and reduced the competencies of local workers' councils. He also centralised the collection of membership dues, most of which were formerly used up by local branches.
Absorption of immigration was seen as a very important task of the Histadrut. Providing immigrants with work was often seen as more important than the financial soundness of its operations. The labor leaders saw failure to absorb immigrants as a moral bankruptcy
that was much worse than financial bankruptcy. In 1924 the Histadrut's Office for Public Works collapsed and went bankrupt, and in 1927 the same happened to its successor, the privatised Sollel Boneh. In both cases the Zionist Executive bailed them out and recognised the deficit in the category of "expenses for immigration absorption". The Zionist Executive, sharing the goal of stimulating immigration with the Histadrut, had to do this because beside the Histadrut there was no other organisation in Palestine with the ability to absorb immigrants.
By 1930 the Histadrut had become the central organisation of the Yishuv. It did what the Zionist Executive wanted, but was unable to do: absorb immigrants and organise agricultural settlement, defense and expansion into new areas of production. According to Tzahor the Histadrut had become "the executive arm of the Zionist movement - but an arm acting on its own". It had become a "state in the making".
According to Tzahor, while the Histadrut focused on constructive action, its leaders did not "abandon fundamental ideological principles". However according to Ze'ev Sternhell in his book The Founding Myths of Israel
, the labor leaders had already abandoned socialist principles by 1920 and only used them as "mobilizing myths."
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s. Established in December 1920 during the British Mandate for Palestine, it became one of the most powerful institutions of the State of Israel.
History
The Histadrut was founded in December 1920 in HaifaHaifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
to look out for the interests of Jewish workers. Until 1920, Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda
Ahdut HaAvoda was the name used by a sequence of political parties that existed firstly during Mandate Palestine and later in Israel. Its original version, led by David Ben-Gurion, is one of the main ancestors of the modern-day Israeli Labor Party....
and Hapoel Hatzair
Hapoel Hatzair
Hapoel Hatzair is a Zionist group which was active in Palestine from 1905 until 1930. They were founded by A.D. Gordon, Yosef Ahronowitz, Yosef Sprinzak and followed a non-Marxist, Zionist, socialist agenda. In accordance with A.D...
had been unable to set up a unified workers organisation. In 1920, Third Aliyah
Third Aliyah
The third Aliyah refers to the third wave of the Jewish immigration to Israel from Europe who came inspired by Zionist motives between the years 1919 and 1923 . A symbol of the start of the third immigration wave is the arrival of the boat "Roselan" in the Jaffa Port on December 19, 1919...
immigrants founded Gdud HaAvoda
Gdud HaAvoda
G'dud HaʿAvodah VeHaHaganah ʿAl-Shem Yosef Trumpeldor , commonly known as Gdud HaAvoda, was a socialist Zionist work group in Mandate Palestine.The group was established on 8 August 1920, with the three focuses of work, settlement and defence...
and demanded a unified organization for all workers which led to the establishment of the Histadrut. At the end of 1921 David Ben Gurion was elected as Secretary. Membership grew from 4,400 in 1920 and to 8,394 members in 1922. By 1927, the Histadrut had 25,000 members, accounting for 75% of the Jewish workforce in Mandatory Palestine.
The Histadrut became one of the most powerful institutions in the state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, a mainstay of the Labour Zionist movement and, aside from being a trade union, its state-building role made it the owner of a number of businesses and factories and, for a time, the largest employer in the country.
Membership in 1983 was 1,600,000 (including dependants), accounting for more than one-third of the total population of Israel and about 85 percent of all wage earners. About 170,000 Histadrut members were Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s (who were admitted to membership starting in 1959). In 1989, the Histadrut was the employer of approximately 280,000 workers.
With the increasing liberalisation and deregulation of the Israeli economy since the 1980s, the role and size of Histradrut has declined, though it still remains a powerful force in Israeli society and the nation's economy.
Hevrat HaOvdim
Through its economic arm, Hevrat HaOvdim ("Society of Workers"), the Histadrut owned and operated a number of enterprises, including the country's largest industrial conglomeratesConglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
as well as the country's largest bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
, Bank HaPoalim
Bank Hapoalim
Bank Hapoalim is Israel’s largest bank. As of 31 December 2008 it had total consolidated assets of NIS 306.85 billion. The Bank has a significant presence in global financial markets. In Israel, the Group has over 260 full-service branches, eight regional business centers, and industry desks...
. The Histadrut also provided a comprehensive health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
system, Kupat Holim
Health maintenance organization
A health maintenance organization is an organization that provides managed care for health insurance contracts in the United States as a liaison with health care providers...
Clalit
Clalit
Clalit, also Klalit is one of Israel's leading health service organizations. Widely known as Kupat Holim Clalit, it was established in 1911 as a mutual aid society...
.
| year | members | percent of Jewish workforce |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 4,415 | ... |
| 1923 | 8,394 | 45 |
| 1927 | 22,538 | 68 |
| 1933 | 35,389 | 75 |
| 1939 | 100,000 | 75 |
| 1947 | 176,000 | ... |
Goals
The initial aim of the Histadrut was to take responsibility for all spheres of activity of the workers movement: settlement, defense, trade unions, education, housing construction, health, banking, cooperative ventures, welfare and even culture. The Histadrut took over economic firms operated by the parties, which operated by subcontracting, and their Office of Information, which was expanded into a Labor Exchange. Already after a few months the Histadrut became the single largest employer in the Yishuv. The Histadrut succeeded in improving worker's rights as e.g. the right to strike was recognised, employers had to motivate dismissal and workers got a place to turn to with their complaints.In the first year of its existence the Histadrut lacked central leadership, and many initiatives were taken at the local level. This changed after David Ben-Gurion became appointed in the General Secretariat. Ben-Gurion wanted to transform the Histadrut into a national instrument for the realisation of Zionism. According to Zeev Sternhell
Zeev Sternhell
Zeev Sternhell is an Israeli historian and one of the world's leading experts on Fascism. Sternhell headed the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and writes for Haaretz newspaper.-Biography:...
Ben-Gurion's exclusive commitment to this goal is illustrated by a December 1922 quote:
[...] Our central problem is immigration ... and not adapting our lives to this or that doctrine. [...] How can we run our Zionist movement in such a way that [... we] will be able to carry out the conquest of the land by the Jewish worker, and which will find the resources to organise the massive immigration and settlement of workers through their own capabilities? The creation of a new Zionist movement, a Zionist movement of workers, is the first prerequisite for the fulfillment of Zionism. [...] Without [such] a new Zionist movement that is entirely at our disposal, there is no future or hope for our activities
Ben-Gurion transformed the Histadrut in a few months. He set up a well-defined hierarchy and reduced the competencies of local workers' councils. He also centralised the collection of membership dues, most of which were formerly used up by local branches.
Absorption of immigration was seen as a very important task of the Histadrut. Providing immigrants with work was often seen as more important than the financial soundness of its operations. The labor leaders saw failure to absorb immigrants as a moral bankruptcy
Moral bankruptcy
Moral bankruptcy is a synonym for immorality that has gained popular usage in the fields of business and politics, in which it specifically implies some instance of political corruption or corporate crime...
that was much worse than financial bankruptcy. In 1924 the Histadrut's Office for Public Works collapsed and went bankrupt, and in 1927 the same happened to its successor, the privatised Sollel Boneh. In both cases the Zionist Executive bailed them out and recognised the deficit in the category of "expenses for immigration absorption". The Zionist Executive, sharing the goal of stimulating immigration with the Histadrut, had to do this because beside the Histadrut there was no other organisation in Palestine with the ability to absorb immigrants.
By 1930 the Histadrut had become the central organisation of the Yishuv. It did what the Zionist Executive wanted, but was unable to do: absorb immigrants and organise agricultural settlement, defense and expansion into new areas of production. According to Tzahor the Histadrut had become "the executive arm of the Zionist movement - but an arm acting on its own". It had become a "state in the making".
According to Tzahor, while the Histadrut focused on constructive action, its leaders did not "abandon fundamental ideological principles". However according to Ze'ev Sternhell in his book The Founding Myths of Israel
The Founding Myths of Israel
The Founding Myths of Israel: Nationalism, Socialism, and the Making of the Jewish State is a book by Zeev Sternhell. It was published in Hebrew in 1995, in French in 1996 and in English in 1998. The stated purpose of the book is an analysis of the ideology and actions of labor Zionism in the...
, the labor leaders had already abandoned socialist principles by 1920 and only used them as "mobilizing myths."
Leadership
The chairman of the Histadrut today is Ofer Eini. In 2010, Eini appointed a deputy chairman, Adv. Daniel Avi Nissenkorn, from outside the organizational ranks. This is the first time in the Histadrut's history that the Trade Union Division has been headed by someone appointed on a professional basis, rather than rising through the ranks of the workers committees or elected by Histadrut members.Criticism
The Histadrut has been criticized by European worker unions and international human rights groups over its failure to represent migrant workers, considered to be the most maltreated employees in Israel. As response to the criticism, in 2009, the Histadrut began accepting memberships of migrant workers.See also
- Federation of Arab Trade Unions and Labor SocietiesFederation of Arab Trade Unions and Labor SocietiesFATULS, the Federation of Arab Trade Unions and Labor Societies was formed by Marxist activists led by Bulus Farah who split away from the Palestine Arab Workers Society in 1942...
- Palestine Arab Workers SocietyPalestine Arab Workers SocietyThe Palestine Arab Workers Society was the main Arab labor organization in the British Mandate of Palestine. Its headquarters were in Haifa where it was established in 1925. From 1937 onwards, its general secretary was Sami Taha...
- Palestine General Federation of Trade UnionsPalestine General Federation of Trade UnionsThe Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions , also called the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions or Palestinian Trade Union Federation , is a national trade union center in the Palestinian Territories...
- Kav LaOvedKav LaOvedKav La'Oved is an Israeli non-profit association, founded in 1991. Its objective is to protect the rights of disadvantaged workers...
External links
- Histadrut: International Relations Department (scroll to the bottom for English)
- Paradise Lost: Histadrut through the years
- The Unmaking of the Histadrut