The Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) today petitioned the Tel Aviv District Labor Court for rulings against Amdocs Ltd. (Nasdaq: DOX) and the internal committee set up at the company, alleging that it was designed to thwart the organization of the company's workers in the Histadrut framework.
The Histradrut asserts in its petition that the systematic action of setting up an internal committee in the company is an attempt to disrupt authentic organization. The petition states, "This is a clever and sophisticated way of acting designed to evade the Pelephone Communications Ltd. ruling" (which bans intervention by an employer in the organizing actions of its workers).
The Histadrut is requesting an order ordering Amdocs management to halt its interference with the workers' organization at the company, and forbidding management to recognize the internal committee. The petition emphasizes that the internal committee is an imposter, and was not aimed at changing the balance of power between the employer and the employees through a collective agreement, but at thwarting organization by the Histadrut.
"The goals of the internal committee are to preserve the current regime of personal contracts and the resulting power gap. This is in the employer's interest, not that of a workers organization," the Histadrut petition states.
The Histadrut told the Court that the internal committee was created out of nothing after the beginnings of organization of the workers in the Histradrut. "In response to the open organization measures, an internal committee was suddenly (within 72 hours) established in an open, smooth, sophisticated, and meticulous way. This is not an instinctive reaction, but a planned, sophisticated, and well calculated one. The indications of its professional character give rise to suspicions of a guiding hand from Amdocs management in planning an immediate, strong, and professional counter response," the Histadrut alleges.
Attempts to establish an internal committee in opposition to organizing in the framework of a legally recognized workers organization also took place at Pelephone Communications Ltd., Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL), Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR), and other companies. The Histradrut's announcement today also mentions that this has become a "method" used in many workplaces in which workers are organizing, such as "Menorah Mivtachim Holdings Ltd. (TASE: MORA), Sderot-Cohen & Sons Transport, and the organization of Tempo Beer Industries (TASE: TMPO) drivers," according to the Histadrut. In some of these cases, a clear connection was proven between the internal committee and management, or at least management encouragement for the establishment of the internal committee. The courts usually detect this situation, and are not tolerant in such cases.
The Histadrut notes that the internal committee at Amdocs notified company management that it had obtained the signatures of a third of the company's workers, and therefore claimed that it was representative. Amdocs management responded to the internal committee's message by saying that it was examining the question of representation with the relevant parties.
The Histadrut is asking the Court for an order enjoining Amdocs management from conducting collective negotiations with the internal committee, and instructing the internal committee to refrain from behaving as a workers organization, because it is not one, and instructing Amdocs management to cease its intervention in the organization of workers in the Histradrut, and not to recognize the internal committee as a representative organization.
Managed by Eli Gelman, Amdocs provides IT solutions and systems to communications companies. It is active in Israel in Ra'anana, Haifa, Sderot, and Nazareth. Amdocs Israel has 4,500 employees in Israel (as of September 2014), amounting to 20% of all Amdocs workers. There has been no wave of layoffs at Amdocs since the 2008-2009 crisis, and the company has even increased the number of its workers in Israel in recent years.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 21, 2015
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