In the face of greater losses, Israel Corp. (TASE: ILCO) holding Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. is continuing a wave of cuts.
Sources inform "Globes" that Zim management and the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) signed an agreement earlier this week on the early retirement of another 23 veteran workers. This is in addition to the 70 workers whose departures were agreed upon in March.
In contrast to the previous agreement, the current one involves primarily ship officers. These are veteran employees, such as captains, head mechanics, and other ship officers. They are aged 60 and older, and have been at the company for at least 15 years.
The agreement stipulates that a year after their departure, or January 1, 2010 (whichever is later), the employees will be able to receive a grant of NIS 10-30,000. The actual sum will decrease the closer the employee is to the retirement age of 67.
Zim and the ship officers' union also agreed on other cuts, such as freezing linkage of salaries to the CPI, cutting holiday presents, and cutting vacations.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 1, 2009
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