The heads of the workers committees at several banks today lambasted the workers committee of Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI; LSE:80OA), after it organized a demonstration in support of controlling shareholder Shari Arison and chairman Dan Dankner outside the Bank of Israel.
"What's happening there is a disgrace," Bank Leumi workers committee chairman Louis Roth told "Globes". "Bank Hapoalim's workers committee is demonstrating in favor of the millionaire, but when she fired 1,000 employees a few years ago, they didn’t make a peep."
Roth added, "[Bank Hapoalim's workers committee chairman Charlie] Amsaleg is the manager of a big branch in Jerusalem. Such a thing could never happen with us at Bank Leumi. How can you fight management if you have to knock on the door to ask for a promotion? At Bank Leumi, the workers committee chairman must keep the rank of private."
The workers committee chairman of another bank told "Globes", "The Bank Hapoalim's workers committee is functioning as a marionette of Zion Keinan, who was recently appointed CEO. He's very strong at the bank, and he activated the workers committee in previous instances."
Amsaleg rebuffed the charges in a conversation with "Globes", and he raised his own claims. "This criticism amuses me. I can tell you with full confidence that Bank Hapoalim's workers are not ashamed to contribute for the sake of the bank in a crisis, and every committee ought to do the same instead of unjustifiably attacking the bank's management. Since when must a committee fight management? Can't there be common interests?"
Amsaleg said that the war being waged by the Bank of Israel against Bank Hapoalim's executives was liable to harm the employees. "As far as we're concerned, the implications of a change in managers threatens the agreements we reached with the present management, which promised us that no more workers would be fired. It's known that every new manager comes with his own agenda; that's the worry. For our part, we won't lend a hand to harming the workers, and we'll act with all our means."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 4, 2009
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