Treasury wants NIS 500m in IEC employee benefit cuts

At issue is the second extra monthly salary bonus paid to 7,000 of IEC's 12,400 employees.

Another round in the battle between the Ministry of Finance and Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) (TASE: ELEC.B22) workers committee has begun. On Monday, Director of Wages Ilan Levin wrote to IEC CEO Amos Lasker, telling him to abolish employee benefits to the tune of NIS 500 million, subject to a hearing. IEC's management and workers committee were instructed to respond by February 15.

At issue is the second extra monthly salary bonus (the 14th salary) paid to 7,000 of IEC's 12,400 employees covered by the company's labor contract, and for the return of NIS 100 million in illegally paid bonuses.

Levin also demanded an end to the practice of promoting IEC pensioners by a pay grade every two years after their retirement. The normal practice in the public sector is a pay grade hike every three years.

IEC workers committee chairman David (Miko) Zarfati said, "The letter was sent to IEC's CEO, and we haven’t yet received it. And without reading it, I have no interest in responding. If the contents are true, this is apparently another step in the assault and pressures on IEC's workers with the goal of destroying organized labor."

No response was available from IEC's management.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 21, 2009

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2009

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