The local authorities in the southern Israeli towns of Dimona, Yeruham and Arad are striking today in protest against the widespread layoffs of workers in the south, Walla! News reports. The large demonstration is being held as a sign of solidarity with the workers and against the shifting of activity by Israel Chemicals (TASE: ICL: NYSE: ICL) overseas. Thousands of people from the south, among them members of Knesset and hundreds of ICL employees, as well as many high school students, are taking part in the protest.
Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog and members of his party traveled to Dimona today to hold the party's weekly meeting there as a sign of solidarity with the workers' campaign, and they have joined the demonstration.
Referring to the swearing-in of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government, which relies on 61 of the Knesset's 120 members, last week, Herzog said, "In Jerusalem on Thursday, an enterprise of 61 people was founded, each of whom received NIS 20 million to keep him or her happy and satisfied. For months, we have been demanding a solution to the problem of Dimona, as representative of everything that is happening in the Negev, at Israel Chemicals, and there is no response. Today, the cabinet meeting was cancelled. They should all have come here."
MK Amir Peretz (Zionist Union), who lives in Sderot in the Negev and is a former chairman of the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel), told Walla! News, "There is no doubt that something different is happening in the Negev today. It's no longer a matter of people bewailing their fate. These are people standing up with their heads held high and telling their children to demonstrate for their place of work, which is the most important thing. Dimona, Arad and Yeruham were supposed to participate in Jerusalem Day celebrations today, but instead it has been declared Dimona Day. It's sad, but that's what's needed."
Zvika Galron, who was fired from his job at Dead Sea Works, said, "Feelings are hard. There are people here who are candidates for being laid off who feel that their life's work has collapsed. We gave the works our souls for 30 years, and after all these years I find a dismissal notice on the door. In the past few years, the company has distributed NIS 25 billion in dividends. The management wants to dismiss a large part of the workforce just in order to turn them into defenseless contract workers. We expect the government to make us of its golden share in the company."
Israel Chemicals said in response, "Israel Chemicals is the economic backbone of the Negev: it invests NIS 1.5 billion annually more than any other company in Israel. It is the largest employer in the Negev, providing a livelihood either directly or indirectly for 30,000 families including 505 of families in Dimona."
"In the past few days Israel Chemicals has been engaged in speeded up talks with the Histadrut trade union and employees in order to lead the required streamlining plan and ensure the continued existence of its plants in the coming years. The talks are being conducted with a genuine intention by the parties to reach agreement in the coming days."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 17, 2015
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