Shlomo Eliyahu, who owns controlling interest in the Migdal insurance company, announced, Thursday, that the company will recognize its worker’s efforts to organize an union and that he would open talks on a collective bargaining agreement. The announcement came after weeks of employee sanctions and demonstration against the company’s refusal to recognize their organization.

“Thanks”, a message from the Migdal employees union (Photo: Migdal employees union)

The 3,000 employees of Migdal launched partial strikes and demonstrations 90 days ago. The employees protested that, for more than two months since the workers committee at the company was established and the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) declared itself the union representing the company, Migdal’s management and owner, Shlomo Eliahu, refuse to open talks on a labor contract.

Migdal’s management also refuses to comply with Tel Aviv District Labor Court Judge Dori Spivak’s more than broad hint to “recognize reality” and the employees’ wishes. He also ruled that Migdal and Eliahu applied “first-degree pressure” to harm the unionization effort. The judge was referring to Eliahu’s direct calls to employees against the unionization, contravening the National Labor Court ban on employers from interfering in employees’ unionization efforts.

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Employees of AIG have followed the lead set by Migdal & Clal Insurance and are unionizing