Bank Hapoalim.
At this stage, the labor dispute does not yet have a practical impact on customer services (Photo: Reuven Castro)
The Bank Hapoalim employees' organization announced a labor dispute involving approximately 7,000 bank employees, this after the negotiations on the new wage agreement reached a dead end following unreasonable demands from the bank's management that would harm the rights and job security of the employees.
The announcement was made today to the management, after the institutions of the General Histadrut had earlier approved the request of the workers' organization for the move.
The announced labor dispute currently has no practical impact on the bank's services, but if the negotiations with the bank's management do not succeed, it may develop into sanctions and even a strike, or as the employees threaten: "We will not hesitate to intensify the struggle and use all the tools at our disposal." According to
employees The bank has been negotiating for over six months to sign a new salary agreement with the bank's management, this is due to the expiration of the previous salary agreement that ended about 3 months ago.
But while the workers' organization is working to promote the agreement and guarantee the workers' rights, wage conditions and their job security, the bank's management shows indifference to the workers' rights and drags its feet in negotiations, while completely ignoring the fact that the bank has accumulated enormous profits in recent years, reaching record profits of 6.5 billion shekels in 2022, which - According to the workers' organization, profits that are a direct result of the hard work of the bank's approximately 7,000 employees.
The announcement of the labor dispute stems from unreasonable demands on the part of the bank's management to reduce the rights of the collective workers in the bank, the management's intention to reduce as much as possible the new employment of collective workers and thereby harm the job security of the bank's employees.
These demands of the bank's management come at a time when the bank's employees are dealing with an unprecedented workload placed on their shoulders, as a result of the implementation of a large-scale cutback plan and far-reaching changes in the staffing position taken by the bank's management in recent years.
The workers' organization accuses the bank's management of dragging its feet (Photo: ShutterStock)
The chairman of the Bank Hapoalim employees' organization, Roni Garfunkel
: "In recent months, the employees' organization has been continuously working to promote a fair and respectful wage agreement for the benefit of thousands of bank employees.
Unfortunately, in the face of great efforts on our part, the bank's management drags its feet in the negotiations, and along the way intends to harm the job security of the bank's employees.
This is a serious and unimaginable disrespect towards all bank employees.
We will not hesitate to intensify the fight and use all the tools at our disposal.
The bank's employees will work together to secure their rights vis-a-vis the management."
Attorney Gil Bar-Tal, chairman of the Histadrut Ma'of
: "Due to foot-dragging and procrastination in negotiations, we are forced to declare a labor dispute at Bank Hapoalim. A cold shoulder. I call on the management to take advantage of the next few days and reach an agreement through dialogue and good spirits."
The head of the banking division of the Histadrut Ma'of, attorney Menachem Malik: "Unfortunately, the negotiations to renew the salary agreement at the bank have reached an impasse. The bank's employee organization has shown restraint and conducted itself with great responsibility over the past few months, but unfortunately the bank's management is back and bringing unacceptable offers to the negotiation table In the opinion, which not only completely ignores the huge profits that the bank presented recently, they also seek to reduce and cancel conditions and rights to which the bank's employees are entitled. We will not put up with
this kind of conduct. I call on the bank's management to come to their senses and advance the negotiations in a way that will lead to the signing of a proper and fair agreement ".
Of money
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Labor dispute
Bank Hapoalim
the Histadrut