Israeli Industrial News: Histadrut, Coffee Bean strike breakthrough labour deal
A very sophisticated and thriving cafe culture has been developing in Israel, but workers' rights in the restaurant sector have been largely unprotected. That is about to change.
The Histadrut Labour Federation and the Coffee Bean chain of coffee shops on Tuesday (11 March) signed a collective labour agreement, the first of its kind between the union and a restaurant. It ends a long work dispute between employees in Coffee Bean's 14 establishments and management.
"The management and owners of the chain should be praised for this breakthrough agreement," Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini said Tuesday. "The Histadrut was able to put its foot in the main door of an area where it had no previous presence."
The agreement should set an example for other workers in the restaurant sector to form unions and protect their rights, he said.
Under the terms of the agreement:
• Ten percent of the coffee chain's annual profits will be granted to its 300 employees.
• An employee who works for at least a year will receive benefits of between half a salary and a full salary.
• Each employee will receive lunch for the symbolic price of NIS 5.
• Management committed to abide by the law and pay transportation fares for employees, or organize transportation during the hours transportation is unavailable.
The international chain first opened in Israel five years ago.
"The chain's customers and employees know today that the chain's employees have the best working conditions in cafes throughout Israel," Coffee Bean Israel CEO Shai Cohen said "The chain's employees are partners in the success of the chain and in its competition in the cafe market."
The struggle for union rights at the restaurant erupted last year, when workers at the Coffee Bean branch on Ibn Gvirol Street in Tel Aviv began to press for improved conditions.
In July 2007, an employee activist who had attempted to form a workers' union was fired.
Together with the Histadrut, the worker successfully sued the franchise for illegal dismissal.
Meanwhile, management refused to enter into negotiations for a collective agreement and began putting pressure on workers who supported the attempt to organize. Workers responded to the ongoing intimidation and harassment by calling a strike on January 22, with the support of the Histadrut and activists who demonstrated outside the restaurant.
At the beginning of February, Coffee Bean's management backed down to national pressure and media exposure and agreed to enter into negotiations with the Histadrut.
Under the terms of the agreement, the employees at the Tel Aviv branch on Ibn Gvirol Street will be awarded a one-time benefit to solve the ongoing dispute over their tips, which allegedly they did not receive for an entire year, starting in May 2006.
Israeli Industrial News: MKs ask Danish cleaning giant to rub out Israeli firm
Two Knesset members on the 25 March wrote to a multinational corporation, alleging that the Israeli firm it had recently purchased was a serial violator of its workers rights.
Labour MKs Michael Melchior and Shelly Yachimovich said they hoped their letter would spur the Danish-based ISS corporation to find an escape clause from their contract to purchase Kfir, an Israeli company which provides cleaning and security services.
"Kfir's high profitability stems from it being a habitual violator of labour laws," they wrote. "Rulings in favour of the workers that have sued their company reveal that it is not averse to dismissing pregnant women, intentionally deferring payment and paying below the minimum wage."
In response, ISS management in Israel said: "It's unfortunate that the MKs did not ask our professional opinion before running to the media and trumping up baseless charges against Kfir." Yachimovich has recently filed a complaint with the Ministry of Industry against Kfir on behalf of employers who claim mistreatment. The charges are currently being investigated by the ministry.
In their letter, the MKs also asked ISS CEO Jorgen Lindegaard to compensate the Kfir employees.
Melchior, who was born in Denmark, wrote the letter in Danish. He said, "I am familiar with Danish sensitivity to such issues and I ask them to be just as sensitive to their Israeli employees."
ISS employs almost a half million workers. Its Israeli branch is already a leader in the Israeli cleaning and security services market and its purchase of Kfir for NIS 80 million provides it with another 4,000 Israelis.
Gaza: Claims of ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continue to be refuted
There have recently been reports of Egypt mediating an unofficial ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Israeli newspapers (17 March) reported that Egypt is putting together a deal in Gaza that will include a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas; an Egyptian commitment to increase anti-smuggling efforts on the border; give Hamas a presence at the Rafah crossing; and reinstate Palestinian Authority control over other crossings from Gaza into Israel. Egypt attempted to play a mediating role between Hamas and Israel following the capture of Corporal Gilad Shalit in June 2006.
Both Israel and Hamas have officially denied the claims that any such agreement has been reached. Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman this week (17 March) delayed a visit to Israel for a third time. No reason for the postponement was given.
Rockets: Rocket attacks against Israel resume after period of relative calm
Rocket attacks from Gaza and Israeli counter measures have recently resumed.
Three Palestinian militants were killed in an Israel Air Force strike east of Gaza City on Saturday (15 March). According to the Israel Defence Forces Spokesman, the men were Islamic Jihad members on their way to launch Qassam rockets at Israel. The IDF actions were the first attacks on armed militants in the Strip in over a week, since the steep drop in rocket fire aimed at Israel.
Rocket attacks resumed against Israel, following a recent lull, hitting Ashkelon on Tuesday (11 March).
Over 84 rockets and mortar shells were fired at Sderot and the western Negev on Thursday (13 March). Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) claimed responsibility for most of the attacks saying they were in response to the shooting of a PIJ leader in the West Bank on Wednesday (12 March).
In response to the continuing rocket attacks, the Knesset Finance Committee on Monday (10 March) approved a plan to reinforce schools in Sderot and the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip. Under the plan, 12 schools will be built and reinforced against rocket fire whilst existing protection for other schools in the area will also be reinforced. The Mayor of Sderot met with Labour MPs last week (12 March) and told them of the difficulties of life for residents of Sderot living under constant rocket and mortar attack.
Security: Head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad killed by Israel in West Bank raid
Israeli undercover forces killed four Palestinian militants in a raid in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Wednesday (12 March). The dead included Mohammed Shahada, a top leader in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement.
IDF forces in the West Bank seized a truck at the Qalqilya checkpoint on 9 March carrying 70 litres of acidic materials which can be used to produce explosives. Due to a recent increase in incidents where security forces captured chemicals used to manufacture bombs, the Israeli Civil Administration Authority said it would distribute notebooks with details of 27 banned chemicals among soldiers, to help them catch dangerous contraband.
MEPP: Meeting held to review progress on Road Map commitments
US General William Fraser met with PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad and Amos Gilad, head of the Israeli Ministry of Defence’s diplomatic political bureau, for a trilateral discussion on the implementation of the Road Map on Friday (14 March). During the meeting, Israel was criticised for not removing more roadblocks in the West Bank, not dismantling settlement outposts, and not halting settlement construction.
The committee to monitor implementation of the Road Map was set up at Annapolis in November 2007 and its first meeting comes amid a renewed diplomatic momentum around the peace process. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in the region last week (4-10 March) and is expected to visit again twice this month. UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband is also expected to visit the region in the coming months.
Quartet Middle East Envoy Tony Blair met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday (12 March) to discuss the situation in Gaza. In the meeting he said that a “different and better” strategy was needed for Gaza. He said:
“We should be doing everything we can to help the people in Gaza without helping those who are launching rockets on Israel and doing their best to undermine the [negotiating] process.” (12/03/08)
Blair also met with Israeli Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On on Wednesday (12 March). In the meeting, the two men discussed ways to forge closer economic cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Bar-On said representatives of the Israeli Finance Ministry had just met with the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Economic Committee for the first time in seven years to discuss trade, tax, infrastructure, standards and joint enterprise issues.
An international investors’ conference is due to take place in Bethlehem in May 2008 to continue recent momentum around the economic aspects of the peace process. This follows the donor conference in Paris December 2007 where $7.4 billion was pledged.
Iran: Conservatives sweep to victory in Iranian parliamentary elections
Conservative candidates retained control of the Iranian parliament in the general election on 14 March, winning nearly four times as many seats as the reformists. Reformists managed to raise their number of seats from 30 to around 50 in the 290 seat parliament despite many of their candidates being banned from standing at all. Iran’s religious constitutional watchdog, the Guardian Council, barred more than 1,700 candidates from running on vague charges of not being sufficiently loyal to Islam and the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Many of the conservative winners are critics of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and may create a new power struggle amongst the conservative leaders in the Iranian legislature.
The EU issued a statement saying the Iranian elections were neither “free nor fair” because of the disqualification of so many reformist candidates. The statement said that the EU
“…expresses its deep concern that election procedures in the Islamic Republic of Iran have fallen below the international standards…over a third of prospective candidates were prevented from standing in this year’s parliamentary elections. These exclusions prevented the Iranian people from being able to choose freely amongst the full range of political views in their country and represent a clear violation of the international norms.” (16/02/08)