"The continued strikes, apparently beyond the Passover holiday, are liable to damage the company economically and cause the loss of anchor customers - a situation that will necessarily require expanding the cost-cutting program," Israel Chemicals (TASE: ICL: NYSE: ICL) Israel general manager Avner Maimon and HR head Ehud Nitzan warned today in a letter senty to workers at ICL subsidiaries Dead Sea Works and Bromine Compounds, who have been striking for two months, following management's plan to lay off hundreds of workers.
ICL sources say that concern about irreversible damage already exists in a number of facilities at Bromine Compounds in Ramat Hovav, which will make it difficult to return to regular work at production units in the company factories. The sources added that it may be forced to close and liquidate some of the facilities damaged as a result of the prolonged strike, in addition to the magnesium factory in Sdom, which has been producing at low levels since the strike began. Company management notes that it may not be possible to repair the accumulated damage caused at the plant, and that it may not be possible to increase production there in the future.
Bromine Compounds workers have been on strike for two months, and Dead Sea Works workers for six weeks. Negotiations taking place at the order of the National Labor Court between representatives of the workers and the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) and management have yet to bring about a breakthrough.
"Management is employing contract workers in our place"
Hundreds of Dead Sea Works employees today demonstrated at the gates of the plant in Sdom, alleging that company management was hiring contract workers and using them to operate some of the facilities, thereby breaking the strike. The workers reported that although company management had placed guard ahead of time at the entrances to the factory, they had succeeded in breaking in and entrenching themselves there, while calling on the contract workers to halt their work and leave the site.
"ICL management continues to act brutally towards the workers. Instead of ending the strike through negotiations, it is using contract workers to break them down," Dead Sea Works workers committee chairman Armand Lankri said today. "This behavior doesn't surprise me. ICL management and Israel Corporation (TASE: ILCO) are doing everything to take the company out of Israel, as they tried to do with Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.. They are taking giant strikes towards such a situation. I hope that the Ministry of Finance comes to its senses and stops the process before it's too late."
In a letter to the group's workers, Maimon and Nitzan wrote, "Company management respects the right to strike and the freedom of workers to demonstrate, and is not trying to break the strike." They added, "In cases in which for safety reasons it is necessary to protect the environment or conduct basis maintenance work to preserve the various facilities, the company is taking action to operate the facilities through its senior executives and contractors. Management is conducting no activity, and production is completely halted."
Referring to the ongoing negotiations with representatives of the Histadrut and the workers, Maimon and Nitzan wrote that ICL management had submitted a far-reaching compromise proposal during the talks, with consideration and compensation for workers ending their employment at the company. They said that the proposals had been favorably considered by senior parties involved in the negotiations, but had been rejected by the workers committee. "The committee's belligerent behavior, its statements, and the actions it is taking to deliberately damage the future of the company and its executives have not only not led to the withdrawal of the cost-cutting plan, but have made a substantial change through cost-cutting more necessary."
"There is no real justification for the strike and for your sitting at home, and certainly not for the irresponsible behavior of the committee, which is trying to make management change its plans by damaging the company, while only the implementation of these plans will help the company recover and enable it to provide a good livelihood to all the workers who remain."
Maimon and Nitzan alleged, "The committee's only interest is preserving its status and that of a limited number of those on good terms with its members, in complete contradiction to the clear interest of the workers in general."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 29, 2015
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