Negotiations between the government, through the Yogev Committee, and Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) employees on reforming the utility will resume next week. The resumption comes despite the labor dispute declared by IEC's workers committee to protest the firing of hundreds of untenured employees by the IEC Projects Division. Sources inform ''Globes'' that the first meeting between the Yogev Committee, the IEC workers committee, and the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) will be held Wednesday week.
It should be pointed out that the parties have failed to agree on the date during the hearing at the Haifa District Labor Court, as a result of which the court could not sign the license for independent power producer Dorad Energy Ltd. Agreement was unexpectedly reached after the High Court of Justice ordered the license to be signed.
The negotiations will resume from the point at which they broke off in February. Four major disputes are on the agenda: the refusal by IEC employees to convert their free electricity into financial compensation; Director of Wages Kobi Amsalem's refusal to whitewash the salary excesses at IEC; IEC employees' objections to sell the Eshkol Power Station's land in Ashdod; and the Histadrut's refusal to float 20% of IEC on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). The parties also disagree on managerial flexibility at IEC and employee compensation to agree to the reform.
The IEC workers committee accepted with equanimity Sunday's ruling by the High Court of Justice, despite the decisions taken regarding Dorad. The workers committee said that Judge Isaac Amit ruled that the Haifa District Labor Court's ruling would stand until the National Labor Court decides on the appeal filed by the state. In the decision on April 3, Haifa District Labor Court President Judge Rami Ram Cohen issued an injunction banning the state from taking steps that are liable "to change the current situation" with regard to the rights of IEC employees, so long as there are no discussions between the state and the employees in an effort to secure their consent to the IEC reform.
As a result of the injunction, Minister of National Infrastructures Silvan Shalom has not signed Dorad's license, fearing that he would be charged with contempt of court. In contrast, Public Utilities Authority (Electricity) chairwoman Orit Farkash-Hacohen signed the license, and has not been charged with contempt of court.
Legal experts believe that the High Court of Justice's decision increases Shalom and Farkash-Hacohen's exposure to contempt of court if they take major steps, such as approving the new electricity components rates on systems expenses before the National Labor Court hearing. In the appeal, the state argues that the Labor Court exceeded its authority by issuing an injunction at its own initiative without being asked to do so, and worded it in a general and sweeping way without mentioning which government companies it meant.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 13, 2014
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014