Mr. Uriel Lynn, President of the Federation of Israel Chambers of Commerce , addressed Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz, last week, requesting to launch a criminal investigation against Trade Union General Secretary Mr. Amir Peretz, for ignoring an return-to-work order given by the National Labor Court.
Lynn argued in his letter to the AG that Peretz deliberately delayed, for four hours, the issuing of a return-to-work order to some 790,000 workers, disregarding court order.
Trade union officials said, however, that the return-to-work order was delayed due to bureaucratic issues connected with the "democratic decision-making process within the Histadrut labor federation".
Lynn claimed the delay was a deliberate, publicized and prominent act of disobedience, which left the entire Israeli economy in a state of uncertainty until noon.
The delay according to Lynn constituted abuse of the general public.
Lynn emphasized that if the Attorney General failed to take the necessary steps, it would show the public that fundamental principles of democracy, such as honoring court rulings and equality before the law, only apply to the those who are powerless : "There must equality before the law. No special considerations should be given to Peretz. The opposite is true: they have a special obligation to uphold the law, because, as public figures, they serve as an example to our society."
