After demonstrations by Israel Chemicals (TASE: ICL: NYSE: ICL) workers that started in the south of Israel and in the past few days have reached the center, the company's workers and management are returning to negotiations. The strikes and demonstrations were sparked by the company's plans for extensive layoffs.
Israel Chemicals management announced this morning that it had acceded to the request by Minister of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water Silvan Shalom that it should renew negotiations with the workers committees of the company's Bromine Compounds and Dead Sea Works units.
Shalom held talks in the past twenty-four hours with the chairman of the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel), the chairman of Israel Chemicals, and workers' representatives, and reached agreement between the sides to enter negotiations on the basis of the following principles:
- The immediate start of intensive negotiations without preconditions;
- The workers are not ending their strike and are not returning to the plants;
- The sides can raise any subject in the negotiations;
- The negotiations teams will be joined by the Histadrut chairman and Israel Chemicals IL CEO.
Israel Chemicals' management says that talks will start at 10:00 am today.
The strike at Bromine Compounds has lasted a month, and the one at Dead Sea Works ten days. Israel Chemicals has still not notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange of the damage that the workers' campaign has caused the company, but industry sources estimate that the losses are in the tens of millions of dollars.
Israel Chemicals insists on its right to streamline, while the workers reject any streamlining plan that includes mass layoffs.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 3, 2015
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