500 temporary workers at Ben Gurion International Airport, including porters and cleaners, left their posts at 5 pm yesterday. The strike was called after the Israel Airports Authority sent notices for lay-off hearings to 120 temporary employees, the first step towards firing them.
The strike continued this morning despite an injunction issued by the Tel Aviv District Labor Court ordering the workers back to work. The Airports Authority called up all of its permanent workers to replace the striking workers, however all departures planned for this morning will be delayed by four hours.
The workers committee claimed that it had been negotiating with the Airports Authority, together with the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel), concerning the temporary workers for the past two weeks. Despite this, the Airports Authority decided to send the notices behind the Histadrut’s back.
The workers committee says the Airports Authority acted in bad faith, in an effort to circumvent the labor contract and avoid giving tenure to long-serving temporary workers.
The Airports Authority said the lay-off hearings were part of the normal procedure at the end of every summer to adjust the number of employees to the airport’s level of activity. It added that the lay-offs were postponed to after the holidays in order to help the workers get through that period.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on November 1, 2006
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