A moment after the announcement by the CEO and Chairman of Partner’s Board of Directors of their resignation, and following the continued reluctance of new buyers to negotiate with the Histadrut and the committee on the regulation of workers’ rights following the transfer of control to new owners, the Histadrut announced a labor dispute at Partner. .
The dispute will apply to the company’s 2,700 employees, who demand the signing of a new collective agreement in light of the transfer of control (as is customary in such cases) – which will ensure their employment future and hence the continued success of the company.
Other grounds for the declared dispute: the employees’ requirement to comply with a duty of disclosure regarding data on the sale transaction; Transparency of the consequences of the transaction – whether on the state of the company or on the rights of the employees; A requirement to negotiate with the employees on the sale transaction; Requirement to sign a clause that will ensure employees a safety net against layoffs or streamlining.
In addition, the Histadrut and the workers’ representatives seek to establish a mechanism to ensure the maintenance of the company’s financial soundness while allocating collateral to the workers; Appointment of employee representatives to the board of directors; Establishing development and investment plans; And compensation for the sale transaction.
Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David: “Even in times of change and upheaval, Partner employees were and remain the driving force of the company. Now, with the transfer of control, the Histadrut is demanding that the new owners respect the rights of the workers and enter into negotiations on a new agreement that will regulate labor relations and ensure their future.
“The company must keep in mind the importance of the employees and their working conditions, and we in the Histadrut will stand by the employees as needed until the sale transaction is completed in a way that respects and honors those who give their time and energy to Partner success.”
Chairman of the Cellular, Internet and High-Tech Workers’ Union Yaki Halutzi: “We demand from the new core of control to take responsibility towards the company and its employees and clarify their intentions. I expect the buyers to come to their senses and enter into negotiations, because if this is not the case, we will not hesitate to take steps that will still lead to fair negotiations.
Chairman of the Partner Workers’ Committee, Keren Ofek: “We have tried to enter into negotiations many times since it became known that the purchase agreement was being formulated, but we encountered dragging our feet. The situation in which the company’s CEO and the chairman of the board resign from their position on the one hand, and on the other hand there is no one to negotiate the status of the company’s employees in the purchase agreement, forced us to declare a labor dispute.
“Partner employees are a unified and cohesive force, and whoever chooses to ignore their rights will find in front of him thousands of determined workers and proven organizational power.”
Regarding the resignation of the company’s CEO, Ofek added: “We knew how to work together, and we saw human eye to eye as the main component in the company’s success and its main growth engine. “Partner has won one of the best managers in the communications market and in the economy in general.”