ICL unions threaten sanctions

Tel Aviv — The heads of the unions at the various Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) subsidiaries have decided to impose sanctions in the coming weeks unless their demand to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the proposed sale of the company to Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. is met. The union leaders have asked for an urgent meeting with the prime minister to voice their objections to the proposed deal. One of the unions representing workers at ICL’s Dead Sea Works (DSW) subsidiary has already declared a work dispute. This gives the union two weeks before it can actually impose sanctions. Union leaders said the meeting is necessary to clarify their position that any such sale would be an economic disaster for the southern Negev region and those who work for the company. In their latest letter to the prime minister, the unions said that the sale of ICL to “foreign hands would be akin to giving up on part of the country.” They stressed in their letter that they represent the 5,000 ICL workers who are directly employed by the company as well as the up to 25,000 families who indirectly earn their livelihood from ICL. The Israeli government holds a golden share in the company since it was privatized back in the mid-1990s, making any deal subject to the approval of the state. The union leaders are also demanding clarifications from ICL management on where the deal stands. This is the second time they have demanded a meeting with Netanyahu as part of their effort to prevent the sale. The unions at other ICL subsidiaries are expected to follow the lead of DSW and declare a labor dispute. The increasing militancy of the workers comes just over a month before the Israeli elections. No decision on the possible merger is expected before the Jan. 22 elections due to the highly controversial nature of the sale. The negotiations with PotashCorp are not expected to resume until after a new government is formed, which will probably not be before mid-February at the earliest.