Workers at Israel Chemicals Ltd.’s Dead Sea Bromine Compounds subsidiary have gone on strike. They took the action on Monday after management called in 140 workers to discuss terms for their being laid off. All 850 workers at the plant in southern Israel went on strike to protest the move and shut down all operations. The union is threatening to strike all ICL plants in solidarity with the Dead Sea Bromine Compounds workers.
Talks between management and the union at the subsidiary broke down late last week. Union leader Avner Ben Senior sent an urgent letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling on him to intervene in the dispute. He charged ICL with earning hundreds of millions of dollars annually from natural resources that belong to the Israeli public and then firing workers “to punish the Israeli government for raising taxes on the company.”
So far, there is no firm word as to whether workers at potash producer Dead Sea Works will strike. In January, potash shipments resumed from DSW after over a month of sanctions. The sanctions were halted after an agreement was reached at the Beer Sheba Labor Court whereby ICL agreed to withdraw dismissal notices sent to 134 workers at DSW. The court instructed the parties to hold intensive negotiations to reach an agreement on outstanding issues and report back by Feb. 15. However, the latest developments at Dead Sea Bromine Compounds could have an impact on DSW.