The workers' committee sent a message to Itai Ben Ze'ev, the CEO of the stock exchange, to let him know that they are on their way to a renewed labor dispute, Maariv has learned.
The committee's main claim, issued from their attorney Benny Cohen, is that for several months a threat from the CEO to cancel the collective bargaining agreements has been hanging over employees' heads.
It should be noted that last July, two years from the date of the last salary agreement, the CEO sent a letter to employees and announced the expiration of the collective bargaining agreements on the exchange as of September 14, 2022.
The workers, for their part, demand an automatic extension of the agreement, but management has asked to cancel clauses that have existed for decades.
For example, the management demands cancelling the existing wage linking mechanism, and to determine that the wage increase will be 50% of the index rate but no more than 3% per year. Management also wants the seniority increase reduced.
What does the Histadrut think on the matter?
This week an urgent meeting was held at the Histadrut, Israel's largest workers' rights organization, and when it concluded the workers announced that they were considering a labor dispute.
According to them, the management's proposal for salary raises, along with the reduction in the increase in seniority, is absurd. Also, employees stated that they believe that management assumes that the Histadrut will agree to any conditions as long as a collective agreement is re-signed.
The employees concluded by stating that they regret that the management of the stock exchange behaves as if it has an insurance policy that a labor dispute won't be declared. They emphasize that this conflict isn't a goal, and they have no intention of implementing it immediately at the end of a cooling-off period.
The Stock Exchange is a public company whose shares are listed for trading, and a labor dispute would cause chaos and lead to severe damage to its reputation, along with trading difficulties for all companies listed on the exchange.