Rail signs deal to outsource work, angering union
Deal with manufacturing company signed with consent of transport minister — but may lead to another strike
In a surprising move Sunday, Israel Railways’ board signed an outsourcing deal with Canadian manufacturer Bombardier, further straining ties with rail workers who are already threatening to strike next week.
The outsourcing agreement, which gives Bombardier the maintenance rights on 132 rail cars within three months, drew harsh criticism from Ofer Eini, chairman of the Histadrut labor federation, and the rail workers’ union — who have been fighting to make sure the train workers keep their jobs. The move may cause Gila Edrey, head of the train’s worker’s union, to call for another general strike.
The deal did, however, receive the blessing of Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz.
When asked about why he backed the deal on Israel Radio, Katz answered: “They [the workers] don’t want a negotiation process.”
He said that the agreement was in the works for over a year, and that the management of Israel Railways needs to focus its energy on safety and its passengers.
The rail company’s management and workers could not agree on the maintenance of the new carriages during that time, and the failure to reach a compromise led to the workers to strike last week — causing trains to be shut down nationwide for a day.
The train company’s management turned to the National Labor Court last Monday, which ruled that the workers must return to work immediately — a move the workers shunned, at least at first, before ultimately returning to work by Tuesday evening.
The strike was a result of the management’s desire to outsource some maintenance jobs to external contractors, the union said. The labor federation said striking was the only tool the workers had to make sure that management did not outsource their jobs.
The Times of Israel Community.