"The cottage cheese protest broke out because of improper conduct by the owners and management. The employees are definitely not to blame," Tnuva Food Industries Ltd. national workers committee chairman Ahiav Simhi told "Globes" today. "Three years ago, they brought in the consultancy firm McKinsey, whose only idea was to give managers a return, and now they have a problem with consumers."
Simhi, who, since the beginning of the week has led the cottage cheese supply stoppage, has since expanded the sanctions to include Tnuva's chocolate drink. He says that, even after the protest, Tnuva could have met the financial demands made by the workers committee. "The company had a net profit of NIS 428 million in 2011, even though management is now saying that it's a little less. Throughout this period, the owners withdrew billions without the workers seeing a penny," he said.
The workers committee is considering intensifying its labor sanctions. Sources inform ''Globes'' that that it is considering halting milk deliveries to retailers. Simhi said that this was one measure under consideration, but that nothing had been decided yet.
Milk is the largest dairy industry category, with an annual turnover of almost NIS 1.5 billion. Tnuva controls 70% of the milk category, which is why, if the workers committee decides to halt deliveries, it is liable to cause a severe shortage within days.
Simhi says that the workers committee wants to sign a convention between Tnuva's employees and consumers. The convention would be partly written by the professors advising the social protest, Avia Spivak and Yossi Yona. "This convention will include a fair profit for the company, a fair salary for the employees, and a reasonable price for consumers. I hope that Tnuva will also sign this convention, as well as other companies, because without this triangle nothing is possible. It's impossible to withdraw all the profits, harm the employees, and roll the higher prices onto consumers."
What happened to the profit?
Tnuva's employees are demanding a 5% annual pay hike over three years of the new labor contract, expansion of the salary items that determine the pension, and equal terms between newer and older employees after seven years.
This morning, Tnuva CEO Arik Shor sent the employees a counter-proposal, offering a 3% pay hike per year, and a gradual narrowing of the differences between older and newer employees over several years, and increased employer provisions for pensions over a period of several years.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 21, 2012
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