The management of Fenicia Yeroham, a glass container maker, today took the extraordinary measure of launching a counter-strike, following industrial action by the workers last week. Human resources manager Avraham Levy today notified 100 out of the company's 220 workers in writing that their services were no longer needed at this stage.
A group of foreign investors controlled by the British Davies family bought Fenicia from Koor in 1999. The plant supplied 70% of the Israeli market's demand for bottles in the past year. Fenicia is up against two problems: exposure to import and boycott threats by the Rabbinical High Court, due to work on Saturdays.
Fenicia's management claim that Turkish bottles are being dumped on the Israeli market at prices that are 40% lower than in Turkey and in Europe. "All the complaints we have filed with the Ministry of Industry and Trade have led to nothing. Dumping and the high labor costs resulted in a NIS 16 million loss in 1999", says Fenicia general manager Haim Katzir. He warned the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance that the company could run into difficulties, and demanded that a 40% import levy on glass containers.
Last Thursday some workers launched a surprise industrial action, and production lines have been paralyzed in the last three days. The management claims that the plant suffered direct damage of $500,000, as well as indirect damage. After negotiations broke down, the management decided to send letters of dismissals to the strikers.
At the same time, Katzir asked Minister of Industry and Trade Ran Cohen and Minister of Finance Avraham Shochat "to intervene immediately in the Fenicia crisis, put a halt to the dumping, and enable Israeli products to enjoy fair terms in competing on the Turkish market".
The workers committee said that the management was not paying them their due wages, which is why they have resorted to industrial action.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 16 April, 2000