British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 761

CHAPTER XVII.

52. One of the most important functions of the Histadruth, is to maintain the so-called Jewish Agency labour exchanges in the towns and larger settlements, which fix rates of wages and conditions of work for new entrants into employment. The rates and conditions are intended to conform to those determined by prior trade negotiations in the industry or undertaking. Certain minority labour organizations participate in the management of the exchanges. The trade unions and local labour councils of the Federation and the various workers' committees in the factories play an important part in the settlement of labour disputes. The panel of workers' members on Government arbitration boards includes many representatives of the Histadruth,

53. The central administrative body of the Federation is an Executive Committee of 33 members elected by the Council of the Federation. The Council in its turn is elected at the general assembly which is elected by all members of the Federation on a basis of proportional representation of a number of party and group tickets. In each important centre there is a local labour council elected by local members of the Federation on a proportional representation basis. The local council supervises and coordinates the activities of the local trade unions and cooperatives, and functions as a sort of clearing house for the manifold activities of the social institutions of the Histadruth in the area concerned.

54. Of the political parties" within the Histadruth amongst which the membership is very largely distributed, the most important is the Alapai, which recently split into two "factions", as they are termed. The influence of the Mapai in the institutions of the Jewish community is predominant. Other important parties represented within the Histadruth are :-

(a) Hashomer Hatzair, a left wing party deriving its main strength from its group of communal settlements and having its own daily newspaper, Mishrnar;

(b) the left Poalei Zion, with marked continental influence; and

(o) the General Zionist "A" Labour Organization.

All parties within the Histadruth. are Zionist and all, except the General Zionist "A'' Labour Organization, claim to be Socialist
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* See also section 2 of chapter XXIIT.

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