The Tel Aviv District Labor Court today issued an injunction against 40 Israel Railways train drivers, who claim to be sick, ordering them to get tested by a doctor on behalf of the company. Only if the doctor confirms the illness will the train driver not be required to go to work. The court order for "sick" drivers to be examined by doctors did not prevent cancelled trains and chaos Thursday afternoon.
Yesterday, the court accepted illness notes from health fund doctors. Some drivers have already been examined by the Israel Railways' doctor, in accordance with the company’s collective agreement, and he confirmed that they were sick.
On Tuesday, 40 train drivers, a fifth of Israel Railways' train drivers, called in sick. Israel Railways management said that some of these drivers were seen vacationing in Eilat or playing football. The train drivers have been protesting for months against management's changes in their work hours, which now sometimes require them to work up to 12-hour shifts.
Israel Railways management counters that the previous work arrangements for train drivers was manual, and that they worked an average of just 3.5 hours during an eight-hour shirt. Management says that the new computerized system is in line with the agreement, keeping the train drivers' eight-hour shift. The drivers insist that management has again used averages, and that, in practice, they are required to work more.
The Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) has not declared a labor dispute in the case of the train drivers, and they apparently sought a way around the labor relations rules by calling in sick in order to disrupt work.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 8, 2013
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