Workers plan massive strike in south to protest firings

Unionized workers in southern Israel planned a general strike for Thursday, to protest the layoffs of hundreds of employees at an Israel Chemicals’ bromine plant.

The Histadrut labor federation said Wednesday it would go ahead with the strike plans, which are expected to shut down businesses from the port of Ashdod to the Red Sea resort town of Eilat, according to Histadrut chairman Avi Nissenkorn.

Employees from the bus, mail and electric services, as well as workers at the Ashdod and Eilat ports and the Eilat airport, will join in the protest, and various government offices and local municipalities will halt services.

Workers in private corporations such as Nestle, Osem, Sonol and others will also join in solidarity.

Trains will continue to run, and medical services and special education programs will not participate in the strike.

An emergency hearing was convened Wednesday afternoon in the National Labor Court, as heads of the Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Association of Israel petitioned for an injunction to prevent the strike, claiming in their request that “a local labor dispute must not immobilize an entire region.”

The Tourism Ministry issued a statement saying the strike could cripple tourism in Eilat, which is already suffering from a lack of Russian tourists forced to stay home by the weakening ruble.

“We recognize the importance of the struggle, but we call to avoid the shutdown of public transport and Eilat airport, which would represent another blow to the south in general and Eilat in particular,” Tourism Minister Uzi Landau said in a statement.

The strikes come amid outrage over the firing of 140 workers from ICL’s bromine plant, and the anticipated firing of hundreds more workers from the company’s Dead Sea Works.

ICL employees in both locations having been striking for the past two weeks.

Ahead of the strike, ICL employees, joined by Histadrut members, gathered earlier Wednesday outside the Prime Minister Office in Jerusalem. Protesters waved signs claiming “Bibi is losing the south,” using Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nickname, and “Unemployment in the south is the real threat.”

On Tuesday, ICL workers blocked roads in Tel Aviv and demonstrated outside the company’s headquarters.

“We refuse to accept the situation and facilitate the expansion of unemployment,” Nissenkorn told Channel 2 Wednesday.

Nissenkorn demanded the government use its “golden share” in the company, which grants it special voting rights in company’s decisions.

“The south’s struggle is a struggle of all Israeli citizens who refuse to give up on the county’s social character,” he said.

Another Histadrut official said the crisis in the south is the result of plans to advance unilateral cutbacks without offering any employment alternatives for southern residents.

According to Israel Chemicals, the bromine factory, located 12 kilometers south of Beersheba, has lost NIS 1.4 billion ($347 million) since 2007, contrary to politicians’ claims that the factory was profitable.