Trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange ended early on Sunday because of a labor union dispute.
"It will not be possible for trading to take place according to the regular schedule," the TASE said in a statement posted on its Web site Sunday. Trading stopped at 2:15 p.m. instead of the usual 5:30 p.m.
Employees at the Tel Aviv bourse said on March 6 that they would not work extra hours following disagreements with management over salaries. The exchange said it might have trouble maintaining services if employees are not there to handle technical problems.
The labor union and management would resume negotiations Monday at 10 a.m. to decide on their next step, Amir Sheftel, who represents the union in the Tel Aviv area, said Sunday.
"This hurts the image of the Israeli exchange and makes it look like less of a developed market," said Yaniv Pagot, who oversees $250 million of investments at Prisma Capital Markets Ltd. in Ramat Gan. "The last thing that investors need right now with the markets falling worldwide is to wonder whether the Tel Aviv exchange will be open tomorrow, the next day, or next week."
Increased trading volume at the exchange since 2006 has resulted in as much as 4,000 extra working hours a month, Sheftel said.
Trading volume in stocks climbed 24 percent to a record NIS 2.1 billion last year, while bond trading nearly doubled to NIS 3.3b., according to the exchange.
The exchange employees' base salaries, from which social benefits are extrapolated, don't include the extra hours, which is one of the main issues the union has asked management to reconsider, Sheftel said.
