Histadrut/Treasury Reach Public Transport Deal; Dispute at Amdocs

A deal concluded Tuesday, April 12, between the Histadrut Labor Federation and Finance Ministry smoothed over prickly issues associated with lowering the cost of public transport. A plan by the far-right government to reduce pubic transport fares was also set to cut the level of reimbursement received by salaried personnel for transportation expenses to their place of employment. The new deal kept the level of reimbursement in place. “We were able to correct the distortion which affected many workers, especially in the periphery,” Histadrut Chairman Avi Nissenkorn said. Workers in the periphery, he argued, still had greater transport fares and should not see a loss of the benefit.

Workers’ Committee at Amdocs Gets Green Light from Histradrut

On Monday, April 11, the Histadrut declared a work dispute at Amdocs, following management’s persistent refusal to negotiate a collective work agreement with staff. The declaration by the Histradrut means that the Amdocs employees can begin sanctions and a strike after two weeks from the date of the declaration.

A demonstration by Amdocs workers, last Thursday, at Ra'anana-Kfar Sava junction

A demonstration by Amdocs workers, last Thursday, at Ra’anana-Kfar Sava junction (Photo: Workers Committee)

Amdocs, a large provider of IT systems to communications companies, has a market value of 8.7 billion dollars. Its employees began organizing under Histadrut sponsorship a year ago, and the labor federation announced six months ago that it represented the Amdocs employees, after having obtained signatures from 1,800 employees, over one third of the company workforce in Israel. Amdocs has 4,700 employees in Ra’anana, Haifa, Sderot, and Nazareth. In parallel with the organization of workers under the Histradrut, the employer made efforts to organize an “internal workers’ committee,” but a court ruled that this was not a workers’ organization.

In recent weeks, Amdocs employees have held several demonstrations near the Tel Aviv home of Amdocs CEO Eli Gelman, in protest against his lack of response to their organization. The Histadrut said that, now that a work dispute had been declared, the workers were planning “to intensify their protest measures.”

“Amdocs management is refusing to recognize the committee, ignoring the law, and dragging its feet with excuses and legal proceedings,” Amdocs workers’ committee chairman Uri Pinchasi said. “It’s time for Gelman to realize this, and to sit down and talk to the workers. Amdocs has a strong workers committee backed by employees in all the company’s branches. We won’t give up; we’ll fight for our rights,” he added.

Related:

“Ernst & Young” in Israel Unionizing; Histadrut Petitions Court on Amdocs Unionization Interference