Sources familiar with talks between El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL) pilots and the company's management have claimed that after the parties had reached understandings and an agreement, severe disagreements resurfaced, possibly to the point of a break down in talks. These sources said that the parties do not respect the understandings reached as the basis for ending the crisis at El Al.
Yesterday, after 13 hours of talks, the company's management and the pilots' representatives announced that they had "reached understandings regarding the issues in dispute." Nevertheless, further disagreements emerged today and the representatives of the pilots have decided to break off negotiations.
According to the understanding, the pilot were to receive a 7.35% raise and in exchange stop cancelling flights, shorten their stay abroad in long flights, including flights to New York, while El Al will stop leasing planes. In fact, the pilots' raise will be a result of their shorter stay abroad.
Head of the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) Transport Division Avi Edri said today, "There are disagreements on wording" and, "talks between the parties continue."
Talks between a company and its employee are inherently tense, specifically when there are such significant schisms, as is the case in the current crisis in El Al. The meeting hosted yesterday by Histadrut Chairman Avi Nissenkorn was also tense and continued for long hours.
Past experience with labor disputes between management and employees, in other entities as well, indicates that after agreeing on the primary items of an agreement expected to end a crisis, one of the parties or both often make a show a force in order to improve their positions. This enables one of the parties to attain further achievements at the last moment, with which both sides are already exhausted.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 28, 2016
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