The spirit of unionization is gaining momentum throughout Israel’s large accounting firms. The latest in line is PwC, Kesselman & Kesselman, one of Israel’s leading firms, where employees have begun moves to form a workers’ committee to improve their conditions. A few days after it was reported that employees at EY (Ernst & Young) Israel had taken steps to set up a workers’ committee and that employees at KPMG Somekh Chaikin had followed suit, employees at Kesselman began similar moves.

Israel headquarters of the accounting firm of Ernst & Young Israel (Photo: Wikipedia)

The forces behind these developments are accountants who have been with their respective employers for 3–5 years, yet who claim that their monthly gross salaries, ranging between NIS 5,500 and NIS 7,500, “do not reflect their efforts and their contribution to the firm.” Those initiating the unionization say they want “improvement, and constant vigilance for workers’ rights and members’ conditions of employment.”

Israel’s Collective Agreements Law stipulates that forming a workers’ committee requires the consent of at least 33.3% of the employees of an enterprise. The leaders of the unionization initiative at Kesselman claim that, if the required percentage of support is not reached, the names of those who did back the move will not be revealed. However, if sufficient support is garnered, elections for a workers’ committee will be held.

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