The struggle of 138 workers of Negev Ceramics today reached the Beersheva District Labor court, which froze the pre-layoff hearings and ordered the plant's management to commence 10 days of talks with the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) to negotiate a recovery plan. Negev Ceramics' management says that the company is losing millions of shekels a month.
The management of Negev Ceramics announced on Friday the closing of the plant and the laying of 140 of its employees as a result of heaving operating losses. Following the announcement, the mayors of Dimona and Yeruham met with the plant's heads in an attempt to find a solution that would avoid the layoffs.
"We won't accept the unilateral brutal step of unexpectedly announcing layoffs and closing the plant the day after the holiday and the day before the Sabbath. Negev Ceramics' management needs to straighten up, withdraw the layoffs, and return to the negotiating table," Histadrut chairman Avi Nisssenkorn said yesterday. "No cutbacks will take place without dialogue. I believe that the Labor Tribunal will accept the Histradrut's petition for an injunction that will prevent the strong-arm tactics used by Negev Ceramics' management."
Negev Ceramics workers' committee chairman Yakov Tzarfati said, "There's a bad feeling. We are all surprised at our management. They demanded 34 workers from the Histadrut and me. 108 have now received an employment termination letter. We also want to get more efficient. Something here seems wrong to me; it's illogical. The workers are angry and frustrated. These people have nowhere to go and no power. They are only a few years before pension age. They're trying to put pressure on them. There are signed agreements, and we hope a solution will be found."
In a letter sent to the workers, Uri Gilboa, CEO of Negev group, which acquired the plant six months ago, wrote, "We tried in every possible way to save the factory, but unfortunately, we did not receive the necessary cooperation from the Histadrut and the workers' committee, so we have lost hope."
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on October 15, 2017
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