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OECD report reveals: We are all held hostage by officials
The public sector in Israel prioritizes middle-aged and older workers over talented young people, the labor relations mechanism in it is a remnant of the 1950s and it gives too much power to the trade unions.
OECD report reveals the Israbluff we all know: how the State of Israel became a hostage in the hands of officials
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The public service
public service
oecd
Histadrut
Professional unions
Sonia Gorodisky
Monday, 28 June 2021, 09:12 Updated: 12:00
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The cost of losing work days in Israel due to public sector strikes is among the highest in the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), with only Denmark and Costa Rica surpassing it, according to the OECD report on "Public sector wage strategy in Israel" published Today
, wage expenditures in the public sector in Israel are higher than the OECD average, and labor and wage laws in Israel have remained almost unchanged since the 1950s.
Wage expenditures in the public sector in Israel are higher than the OECD average, while in OECD countries, governments spend about 22% of expenditures. Their public sector on public sector wages in Israel is 26%, a significant difference, but it turns out that it is not the most serious that the report reveals.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. The right-wing arbitration law appears in the platform on the right, but not in the coalition agreement. Netanyahu also failed to promote him (Photo: Reuven Castro)
The report spreads over 65 pages relevant today than ever, with the first work of the new government, trying to promote economic reforms and will need to bargain collectively with workers' organizations - and when only yesterday threatened Federation not to open the kindergartens of summer vacation in two days.
The authors of the Recommends, among other things, the
obligation to arbitrate for workers in essential services
, to
limit the use of labor disputes,
to
define the issues on which negotiations with workers will be conducted
, and to
adjust the level of wages to skills rather than seniority
.
Former Prime Minister Netanyahu has long tried to promote The Compulsory Arbitration Law (which, among other things, restricts the right to strike), without much success, when Israeli citizens have experienced strikes by bodies such as the railway, the electricity company, seaports and more.
In the last two years, the law has not been promoted due to the last four elections and the political difficulty of promoting it, as it is a "red line" for workers' organizations (to whose credit it must be said that they have not exercised the right to strike in recent years). , Who prefers dialogue and sees the strike as a last resort.) The law also appeared in the economic platform of the right, but did not enter into the coalition agreement signed with Yesh Atid.
Tel Aviv in the 1950s.
"The main frameworks for regulating labor relations in Israel were planned in the 1950s, and provide a considerable amount of power to workers' organizations in the public sector" (Photo: Walla! NEWS system, courtesy of the Tel Avivville Polender Municipality Archive)
Frames designed in the 1950s
"The main frameworks for regulating labor relations in Israel were designed in the 1950s, and provide a considerable amount of power to workers' organizations in the public sector. The labor market is changing rapidly, urging to rebuild social dialogue and improve labor relations so that Israel's public service can implement At the pace of change, "the report said. The
report suggests that collective bargaining may support the challenges facing the future of the labor market
.
It seems that talks between public employers and workers' organizations occur mainly when there is a crisis or a problem, a situation that makes it difficult to build trust
. "
Angel Guria, Secretary General of the OECD, during his visit to Israel in 2016 (Photo: Paul Photographers, Amit Shabi)
OECD recommendations for improving labor relations in the public sector
The OECD recommendations regarding the improvement of labor relations and bargaining systems in the public sector in Israel include, among other things:
• Establishment
of alternative institutions for resolving conflicts
that can operate without strike pressure.
"Frequent declarations of labor disputes and taking sanctions and strikes lead to the loss of working days and point to a system that does not work in the public interest. Developing alternative alternatives to conflict resolution is a necessary move, ensuring appropriate use of strike tools as a last resort," Independent of arbitration and mediation
•
Protection of essential services from strikes
The report emphasizes that most OECD countries define some public services as 'essential' in order to reduce citizens 'exposure to work stoppages in those services, which severely hamper basic services provided to citizens. If no agreement can be reached between employers and workers' organizations, OECD economists suggest "Israel must develop this approach by institutionalizing and establishing broad engagement with workers' leaders and political leaders and by encouraging public discourse on the issue," the report said.
Creating budget constraints and
principles for determining the rate of increase in wage expenditures
.
The restriction will help create a "what's on the table" framework to improve the negotiation process and preserve the democratic right of elected governments to allocate public spending based on their political priorities.
•
Limiting the timing and use of declaring labor disputes
The report states that the number of disputes and strikes and their cost in terms of the loss of working days in Israel are among the highest in the OECD. "Labor disputes in Israel have become the accepted way to reach an agreement. "The recent resurgence of workers' organizations and conflicting labor relations indicate that there is a need to improve relations in favor of improving public service," the report said.
"Israel must consider changing the conditions that allow unions to open a labor dispute. Israel can use or adjust the legal framework to set an expiration date for declarations of strike intent," the organization recommends.
Increasing the frequency of meetings between committees and managements outside the context of crises or conflicts.
Sharing information between employers, workers 'and workers' organizations, setting priorities and regular communication will help to alleviate the sense of paralysis and the mentality of the "winner takes everything", which seems to characterize a significant part of the negotiations in the labor market in Israel.
• On the Ministry of Finance
Re-examine the scope of issues on which representatives of trade unions are negotiating
.
"Trade unions in Israel may demand negotiations or strike due to the consequences of any change in the workplace. This means that any change must be agreed upon by the workers, including a change in location, scope of work or tools. The unions use their power to include a set of issues in wage agreements. "Thus, unions are involved in almost every small change, even if its impact on working conditions, if any, is small, and all issues are covered by the same institutional organization," the organization's report explains.
OECD economists recommend "changing the scope of" conditions "Work for them should be negotiated, along with finding ways to encourage constructive participation of organizations and employees in management reforms and building mutual trust."
OECD recommendations regarding improving the overall pay system include:
• Simplifying the wage structure by increasing the basic wage at the expense of wage supplements.
The move will lead to increased transparency in the worlds of wages, will improve the recruitment process and mobility in the public sector. The multiplicity of wage components is a major issue in the structure of wages in the public sector. This is, for example, a special fee for training or for holding a car. However, many of these wage supplements are outdated, do not meet the purpose for which they were created in the first place.
• Similar to the private sector, the level of pay should be adjusted to skills rather than seniority.
The report noted that in Israel there is a mismatch between salaries and skills in specific positions. For example, salaries for jobs of public sector engineers are lower than salaries in the private sector.
Relatively high wages for junior jobs / low skills, and lower wages for senior jobs / high skills) is common in the public sector in many countries, it has a negative impact on the relative attractiveness of the public sector compared to the private sector for talented and skilled workers.
•
Granting administrative powers and flexibility to the field in the worlds of reward
.
In Israel, as in many other OECD countries, performance pay has de facto become a kind of payment supplement that is rarely linked to effective performance indicators. Targeted pay raises and performance rewards are easier to implement in a decentralized manner. In the UK for example, the various offices have their own budget and they decide how to direct salary benefits to specific positions and employees.
•
Reducing the importance of the seniority component in salary
.
Unlike the private sector and most OECD countries, the seniority component of public sector wages in Israel is still given high weight.
As a result, the public sector will experience difficulty in recruiting new candidates in the near future.
To address the challenge, it is necessary to reduce the gaps and reduce the impact of seniority on wages.
Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David. Ensured flexible arrangements that continued the functioning of the economy during the Corona crisis (Photo: Official website, Oren Cohen, Histadrut spokeswoman)
Histadrut response: Explanatory phase
Facts are the engine of growth of the Israeli economy and if there is one lesson that every world has learned from the corona crisis it is the need to strengthen public systems. Nurses, laboratory workers, social workers, teachers and security personnel are the backbone of Israeli society. Any attempt to harm the public sector will weaken the state's ability to respond to citizens in the next crisis.
Recall that already in the first days of the corona crisis, the Histadrut harnessed the public sector and provided flexible arrangements to ensure the continued proper functioning of the economy. We were on the front line and will continue to be there, so that both routinely and in emergencies, Israeli citizens can receive an available, accessible and better service than what citizens of other countries receive.
The dialogue between the Histadrut and the professional echelon in the Ministry of Finance has not ceased since then and has continued throughout the period, with the common goal of examining the changing labor market and preparing for its demands.
The Histadrut will seriously and in depth examine any proposal designed to foster excellence among workers and march our economy into the future.
However, the recommendations proposed are extreme in their restriction on freedom of association and are intended to erode the organizational power of the workers in the already unequal force equation, vis-à-vis the employer.
"Any attempt to infringe on or restrict the right to strike or the status of the workers will encounter a strong Histadrut that will fight resolutely and without compromise."
Israel Railways strike, 2019 (Photo: Yoav Itiel, Yoav Itiel)
Histadrut response: The threats phase
In recent years, and in the Corona crisis in particular, the Histadrut has proven its status as a responsible and balancing factor in the economy. In zero days of strike, we managed in a relatively short period of time to bring to the finish line complex and significant reforms that improve the service to all citizens and are beneficial to the Israeli economy. The reforms were achieved thanks to the mutual understanding of the parties that any move for the benefit of the economy, must be made by agreement and rely on deep trust. In this context, the Histadrut will not express opposition to the body for resolving labor disputes and mediations.
The responsibility for proper labor relations applies to all parties and any attempt to restrict the freedom of association or to interfere in the mechanisms of declaring labor disputes, upsets the balance and impedes social dialogue.
It is important to mention that at the end of 2019 the OECD published a special report stating that organized labor is important for economic growth, raising productivity and reducing wage disparities in the economy.
The report spans 270 pages, findings collected from 36 developed countries, which support that organized labor is a more accurate and flexible tool than legislation and also the most appropriate tool for regulating the future labor market.
Therefore, the Histadrut believes that the regulator's intervention in labor relations should be reduced.
The Histadrut's statement is signed with an explicit threat: "Freedom of association is a fundamental right and an attempt to restrict it in the guise of resolving conflicts contrary to the fundamental values of a democratic state. Any attempt to infringe or restrict the right to strike or the working class will encounter a strong Histadrut."
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