An agreement was signed on the 29th of March between the Israeli trades union confederation Histadrut and the Presidium of Business Organisations. This gives Israeli employees a choice of leaving work one hour early one day a week or, if they work at weekends, taking one Sunday off every 4–6 weeks. In either case, it will not affect their current basic wage levels. From the 11th of July the new standard workweek for full-time employees will then become 42 hours. The agreement still needs the approval of the Labor Minister to take effect. Even with the reduction, Israeli’s workweek remains one of the highest among the industrialised countries.