Trade Union Friends of Israel

The Histadrut, working for
sub-contracted employees

Since he took up his post as chair of the Histadrut, Mr Eini has made clear his firm intention to improve the status of sub-contracted employees. Hundreds of thousands of cleaners, security guards, nurses and others in similarly low paid occupations have, in recent years, faced exploitation by employers. This has been exacerbated by the inactivity of the regulatory authorities, the undermining of employee-employer agreements, and a lack of employment inspectors (20 for the whole country).

However, cooperation between employer organisations, the Histadrut and the Government (the so-called “triangle”) has now led to the creation of a committee of inquiry into better enforcement practices.

“Criminally responsible”

The committee has made important breakthroughs with agreements on criminal responsibility for those who breach labour laws, and minimal price stipulation for large government tenders (to stop the undercutting of pay rates).

Cooperation with employers has led to an agreement with the Kupat Holim General Health Services (the health insurance scheme created by the Histadrut) primarily for the protection of female sub-contract workers in the health service.

This is a breakthrough agreement, as it is the first time a large employer, together with the Histadrut, will force their sub-contractors to fulfil their contractual obligations with regard to their employees’ rights. Furthermore, they have the ability to impose sanctions upon those who infringe those rights.

During 2006, the Histadrut filed a complaint in the Labour Tribunal against the Airports Authority use of sub-contracted labour. This is in contravention of the pre-existing agreements designed to stop the exploitation of these workers.

The Histadrut has also encouraged member unions to defend sub-contracted workers. The Electricity Supply Company union has undertaken to check the tenders issued by the management for sub-contracted work and will ensure that conditions of work and pay are included in the tenders.

2006 has seen a clear message sent from the Histadrut leadership that employers, private and public, cannot circumvent employment law or dismiss agreements that damage Israeli workers’ rights.

The fight for employees of local authorities, religious councils and fire services

The largest industrial dispute in recent Israeli history took place in 2006. The wages of hundreds of thousands of employees of the local authorities, religious councils and municipal fire services were being paid late or irregularly (some time for years on end). Some local authorities had even deducted money from wages to be paid into pensions but then failed to do so.

Poor Councils the cause of the problem

While the Israeli Finance Ministry has blamed poor planning and mismanagement for the problem (including corruption amongst council leaderships), others believe that the crisis is indicative of socio-economic divisions and has been caused by an inability to raise sufficient tax revenue from poorer residents.

Historic boundaries determine which councils enjoy healthy income from affluent areas and industry while their neighbours continue to suffer from incurable deficits.

The Histadrut felt that this situation had gone on for far too long without any move to resolve it. In July 2006, the Histadrut declared a general employment dispute in the country (against the employers) and announced that if the problem was not resolved, they would declare a general strike.

In September, a general agreement was reached between the Histadrut and the Ministries of Finance and the Interior. Yet the workers still did not receive what was owed.

Solidarity action

Earlier in the year, the Histadrut had held strike action in Israel’s sea ports to support the local authority workers of Nazareth. This was significant as it was the first time that strong and influential workers at the ports went on strike to defend their weaker colleagues in the local authority.

National strike

On November 29 2006, the Histadrut called a national strike which brought the country to a standstill. Throughout the country, trains came to a halt, government ministries shut, phone and postal services stopped and the international airport and seaports closed.

The action is still ongoing. A Histadrut report of 17 December stated that 44 local authorities are still in debt to their employees. The Histadrut is demanding that all local authority workers be paid their monies owed and that the employers’ contributions to the pension fund be paid in full.

“Criminally responsible”

The Histadrut Chairman has demanded that if the local authority leaders fail in their obligations they should be held criminally responsible for theft of wages.
Whilst the Histadrut is loath to resume strike action, if the workers are not paid, they would most likely declare more action.

Agreement to pay wages to workers absent due to hostilities

The threat of rocket attacks during the July 2006 conflict prevented many workers in the north of Israel from attending work. None of these workers were entitled to pay due to the involuntary absence.

However, the Histadrut intervened and negotiated with the employers and government a new law that will mean that all workers will receive their full pay when they are absent from work under these conditions.

2006: A year of agreements and recognition

A long list of agreements and recognition have been signed during the last year between public and private sector companies and organisations. It has been commented that the new direction that the Histadrut has taken in the first year of Ofer Eini’s leadership has created an atmosphere of trust between the unions and employers.

Agreements have been signed with owners of leisure centres and theme parks, covering over 30,000 workers, most of them young people. Agreements during the process of privatisation have ensured that workers are not on less favourable terms in the changeover, the most prominent of these being in the privatisation of the oil refineries.

The pensions issues

Like any other industrialised nation, pensions in Israel are high on the political and bargaining agenda. Ever since the 2003 reform, when the Histadrut pension fund’s were nationalised, the pension rights of many workers have been adversely affected.

The Histadrut has negotiated with the government to retain benefits for their employees; this includes the continuation of the right of a retirement grade for those retiring from a government service, which was due to be abolished.

Whilst Mr Eini was director in the Professional Union Department within the Histadrut, he negotiated an industry-wide pensions agreement with the Industrialists Federation. This agreement was expanded during 2006 thus improving the pension conditions of hundreds of thousands of Israeli workers. Similarly, a fund of nearly £100 million was created to support workers taking early retirement during workplace closures.

The seriousness of the pension issues has prompted the Histadrut to open up a specialist pensions and insurance department to deal with the long term challenges of pension reform.

The future

The new leadership of the Histadrut has started discussions with employers and the government on issues where there has been no dialogue for many years.
For example, after five years of no action, negotiations with the Finance Ministry for a new wages agreement in the public sector have started. There are also moves to start new discussions in the private sector for a “group” agreement after eleven years of no talks.

The Histadrut plays an important part in the fabric of Israeli working life and it will continue to act in the interest of workers for many years to come.