The Histadrut is interested in maintaining a monopolistic power and preventing competition from unloading general cargo at seaports. Its clear significance is sabotage in the functioning of Israel’s seaports infrastructure. “This is a political strike, aimed at harming the functioning of the economy while using monopolistic power, and it is defined as a strike that is prohibited in labor law.”
The Association of Chambers of Commerce appealed yesterday to the National Labor Court (Petition No. 56051-01-22) demanding its immediate and uninterrupted intervention by the court to issue injunctions against the outbreak of the strike at the Haifa and Ashdod seaports as well as the maritime transport companies in Haifa and Ashdod. February 1, 2022 onwards.
The union also asks the National Labor Court to issue an order instructing port workers to continue regular and regular work without lowering output and / or to maintain sanctions of any kind, in such a way that the work continues to be conducted in a normal and regular condition and in full output. In the Gulf port or in any other infrastructure wharf that can and is willing to receive the same ships.
The union also demands the issuance of an absolute order prohibiting port workers from taking action against the entry of ships into the new port docks for the purpose of unloading general cargo.
The petition was prepared and filed by Adv. Shlomi Levya, the Attorney General and Deputy Director of Law and Administration at the Association of Chambers of Commerce.
According to Adv. Uriel Lin, president of the Association of Chambers of Commerce, “Precisely at this time, when the old ports do not meet the load of unloading general import cargo and the economy is damaged, seaport workers want to prevent empty port docks in both Haifa and Ashdod.” Very much in reducing congestion and will help loosen the traffic jam and utilize state infrastructure. “The Histadrut prefers that these national infrastructures be left unused, that the chaotic situation in the ports continue, that importers continue to bleed money, that the entire public pay a very heavy price for no injustice, but the main thing is that there will be no competition and exclusivity for the old ports.”
Lynn: “The business sector and the general public pay a very heavy price for the Israeli government’s failure to fulfill its basic obligation to exporters, importers and the general public. The Israeli government had to ensure that the entire infrastructure operated efficiently. To this day, her helplessness has encouraged the ports’ committees to feel that they can disable the ports’ infrastructure while causing heavy damage to the economy. ‘
The Association of Chambers of Commerce emphasizes that it is an illegal strike without a recognized cause in law for the following reasons:
A. It is designed to exert undue pressure to thwart an important component of port market reform;
B. It seeks to anchor halakhah in fact by illegitimate force which is not enshrined in the reform agreements;
third. It is intended to make veteran port workers an immune enclave in the Israeli economy from facing efficiency, efficiency and competition in everything related to general cargo;
D. It places the interest of a strong pressure group of a few above the public interest;
God. It is intended to thwart the justified use of the country’s national infrastructure to alleviate unreasonable congestion at the old ports.
The petition states that “the very threat of shutting down seaports, the beating heart of trade in the State of Israel, is already influencing the decisions of importers and exporters in the economy and creating unbearable unrest and uncertainty for the business sector and the economy. It is important to emphasize that the threat of a strike at seaports comes against the backdrop of a grim reality of prolonged delays, spanning long months, and a huge traffic jam of ships waiting in line to enter the old ports and unload goods. A harsh reality, where goods are destroyed or lose their validity, other goods have a shorter shelf life for marketing and many importers find themselves exposed to lawsuits by third parties for breach of contract due to late delivery dates they have committed to. “Congestion and congestion in ports, which have not yet been reasonably resolved at the time of writing, despite the passage of time, also have an effect on the cost of living.”
“In this state of port congestion and the resulting damage to port service users, and in the midst of the fifth wave of Corona virus, the Omicron wave, and hundreds of thousands of isolators challenging the business sector, the threat of a strike, God forbid if any organizational action is taken, is a new record of opacity And abuse of power. ‘
The union notes that the “conflict” does not at all constitute a cause for a labor dispute under the Labor Disputes Resolution Law, 5717-1957. . The Histadrut is interested in maintaining a monopolistic power and preventing competition in a general charge that clearly means sabotaging the sovereign decision. This is a political strike par excellence, which is defined as a strike that is prohibited in labor law. “
The union further states that “the Histadrut has announced that it does not intend to allow general cargo ships to enter the new ports, although the certification letter of these ports allows them to receive these ships, so in practice the Histadrut’s organizational measures have already begun. The State of Israel cannot afford not to make full use of the port infrastructure and to prioritize the interests of a handful of workers over the needs of the economy and the economy. ”