University student unions and cottage cheese protest leaders joined forces for the first time when 30 activists from the two groups stood this morning outside the house of Zehavit Cohen, the Tnuva Food Industries Ltd. Chairwoman and Apax Partners Israel CEO. The protesters held placards that read, "Wake up Zehavit," and "Good morning monopolies, the Israeli people have woken up". One of the protesters dressed up as a cow, and the protesters drank Tara Dairy brand milk.
At the beginning of the protest, Zehavit Cohen approached the protesters and said, "Tnuva supports 8,500 families and the number of Tnuva employees has risen by 400. The protest is real and I am proud to be an Israeli. The issues must be thought through and a systemic solution must be found. The problems are real and painful, and Tnuva is doing everything it can to solve the problems. We are listening to our customers." Immediately upon finishing her speech, Cohen left the scene.
Cottage cheese protest activists presented a long and detailed list of demands from Tnuva, namely, that Tnuva reduce non-dairy product prices by 30%, like Sunfrost (frozen vegetables) and Maadanot (frozen baked goods), "without confusing the consumer with sales and changing the number of pieces in the package," said cottage cheese boycott organizer Itzik Alrov. The group is also demanding that Tnuva publish its financial reports, reduce prices for basic dairy products by 20%, set white cheese and cottage cheese prices at NIS 5.00, and reduce prices for premium dairy products by 25%. The students intend to continue their protest against Tnuva, and on Tuesday will hold protests in shifts at supermarkets.
In response to Cohen, Tel Aviv University Student Union chairman Ran Livneh said, "This is ridiculous. Why didn't she say what cheese costs? The nation demands social justice. Tnuva is a monopoly. We are here to say that the age of monopolies has ended. We will play the role for them and boycott other companies."
The Tel Aviv Student Union has promised, "a protest the likes of which has never been seen before in Israel". So far 8,000 have joined the boycott's Facebook page. Last Thursday, 12 student unions announced that they were joining the Tel Aviv University Student Union initiative to boycott Tnuva from Monday until the Jewish holidays (which begin September 28). Two more unions joined the boycott over the weekend.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 11, 2011
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