New Israeli labour law forces bosses to talk to unions in the workplace
The Histadrut (Israeli TUC) has won important changes to Israeli labour law as part of recent budget negotiations.
On the 14 July the Knesset Labor, Welfare and Health Committee approved a number of new labour laws, sending them for a vote later as part of the 2009-2010 budget.
One new law requires employers to negotiate with labour unions in the workplace. Other changes include administrative and criminal sanctions against employers not paying minimum wages based on agreements in various business sectors.
The new laws are part of the budget package negotiated by the economic roundtable forum that includes representatives from unions, employers and the government.
Some employers are threatening a massive campaign to stop the new legislation, with threats that the important Israeli high-tech sector will move off-shore if they are forced to allow union organisers into their workplaces, or forced to negotiate with unions.
Last month the Ha'aretz wrote that the Histadrut, under Ofer Eini, had become more relevant, wielding direct and important influence over government policy. In an editorial Haim Bor wrote that the Histadrut had been “transformed from an alienated organization despised by broad swathes of the populace, to a relevant organization at the forefront of the national economic stage … The Histadrut is a winner in this deal.”
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