Israeli FM may seek court order against strikers

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Lieberman told reporters that he was examining the possibility of obtaining back-to-work orders.

He also said he was pressing retired judge Steve Adler, the official arbitrator in the dispute, to get union representatives and treasury officials back to the negotiating table.

On Sunday, Israeli Foreign Ministry workers declared an open-ended strike amid a long-running dispute over wages and employment conditions.

The massive walkout forced close over 100 Israeli diplomatic missions around the world.

Lieberman, who has been locked out of his office at the ministry's al-Quds (Jerusalem) headquarters, said he has ordered ministry management to cut all contacts with the workers' committee until work is resumed.

He had earlier denounced the strike as "irresponsible" and "a wretched decision and a display of a loss of control" on the part of the ministry’s workers union.

The website of the Israeli Foreign Ministry says diplomats have not dealt with foreign representatives, official visits of any kind, nor issued visas or provided consular services since the wage talks on March 4.

The strikers are demanding a raise in monthly salaries and compensation for spouses forced to quit jobs due to foreign postings.

Nearly a third of Israeli diplomats have reportedly quit their jobs in the past 15 years due to poor wages.