Ashdod Port has signed an agreement with the Histadrut to extend the employment of temporary workers whose employment contract expires this month – workers recruited due to the unusual congestion at the ports
About six months ago, the Port of Ashdod signed a unique and preliminary agreement of its kind in Israel with the Histadrut to recruit temporary personnel to deal with the operational queue that has been created. The port is now seeking, in light of the continuing trend, to extend the employment of 30 workers for an additional period of up to six months. Major ports in Israel and around the world have been suffering for many months from extremely unusual loads, created due to the outbreak of the corona plague.
In many ports around the world it is customary to have a temporary workforce which is required to work during peak periods. This was not acceptable in Israel and the Port of Ashdod sought to sign a similar agreement with the Histadrut that would allow for the absorption of temporary workers that would increase the permanent workforce.
In the first phase, about 50 temporary workers were hired in June to support the unloading of the ships, and there was a significant decrease of about 50% in the operational queue. In light of the impressive results in reducing the operational queue, the port management led, about three months later, a move to absorb 40 more temporary workers.
Now that world trends are not changing, and the supply chain crisis continues, the port is seeking to extend the employment of 30 workers for a period of up to six months. The employees who choose will receive supplementary training to that which they underwent at the time of their absorption, and will be allowed to perform all the postal functions.
Shiko Janna, CEO of the Ashdod Port Company, stated: “In the past year, we have been experiencing a global crisis in the supply chain and continue to give their signals and affect Israeli ports. The entire port of Ashdod is mobilized for the Israeli economy and will continue to provide the best service to the company’s customers. It was also decided in cooperation with the Histadrut to extend the employment of temporary workers. The reinforcement of the permanent labor force proved itself, when with the absorption of the first workers there was a decrease of about half the number of waiting ships. We will continue to act in an uncompromising manner to deal with the crisis in the best possible way. I would like to thank the Minister of Transportation and the Ministry of Transportation for their support during these challenging days. “