Another round of overnight talks between El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) management and its pilots has failed to produce a result. Last night, with the mediation of Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) chairman Avi Nissenkorn, the airline's management and its pilots' committee met in an attempt to settle the prolonged dispute between them and to bridge the gaps between their positions, but the talks broke down.
According to El Al's management, the pilots' representatives demonstratively abandoned the negotiating table, embarrassing the Histadrut chairman. In a statement issued this morning, El Al says, "Last night, after a short meeting at the offices of the Histadrut, in a further attempt to reach agreement on the matter of veteran pilots, the pilots' representatives abandoned the negotiating table, leaving the Histadrut chairman and El Al's management astonished."
According to El Al, the reason for the breakdown in negotiations was the pilots' refusal to accept the most basic condition in labor relations, namely pay in exchange for work. The management's demand that the veteran pilots should give nine training days monthly in exchange for a monthly salary of over NIS 50,000 was rejected out of hand.
The airline says that the pilots' representatives have no scruples about gambling with the livelihoods of thousands of households that depend on El Al, and are again turning its customers into hostages, just a week after the unambiguous order of the Labor Court that they should return to full, regular activity without disruptions.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 14, 2017
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