palestinian workers

Dubious actions by Brick

Labour court session in Jerusalem revealed illegal actions

The Jerusalem Labor Court discussed the claim of 21 Brick employees to acknowledge them as fully-fledged workers of the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) in accordance with the Amendment to the Law on Manpower Companies A12 (2000).

On April 26, the Jerusalem Labor Court held its third and last session on the claim of 21 excavators at Brick, hired for the IAA. Organized under the auspices of WAC, the claimants demand that their illegal dismissal be rescinded, and furthermore that they be reinstated as IAA employees.

According to the Amendment, every worker employed continuously over a period of nine months by a manpower company, automatically becomes an employee of the employer in effect; the IAA in this case. WAC holds that all 21 claimants meet the criteria set by the Amendment. The court's ruling in this case would have a tremendous effect on work relations in the Israeli labor market, as well as on the future of hundreds of thousands of workers employed by manpower companies.

The claimants' attorneys, Adv. Basam Kharkabi and Adv. Eran Golan, made a cross-examination of five high ranking officials at Brick and the IAA, thus revealing abusive employment practices in the last few years, and a conscious attempt to circumvent implementing the Amendment. Here are some of the facts unveiled:

1. Brick's field manager admitted to informing the workers that all employees with a nine-month employment term or higher, are dismissed. His claims are contradictory to Brick's, that the claimants were not laid off, as well as to an affidavit submitted to the court on behalf of the field manager, noting that he did not notify the claimants of their layoff. According to the cross-examination, Brick's attorney who submitted the affidavit, arrived at the excavation site with a ready-made affidavit and requested that he sign it, without even questioning him on the particulars of this case.

2.Benny Harpaz, CFO of the IAA, disclosed in his testimony that even though the Amendment has already come into force in 2008, the IAA did not discuss its implementation, and did nothing to prevent the arbitrary layoff. He furthermore admitted to knowing the excavators would eventually be fired by Brick.

3.Eli Mizrahi, CEO of Brick, testified that the company deducts NIS 10 a month from each worker's salary for the workers committee, while none even exists. That as well as NIS 20 for membership fees at the Histadrut, the national Israeli labor union. Mizrahi admitted that the latter were never transferred to the Histadrut, but are rather used for buying hats and sun lotion for the excavators. These deductions total at thousands of shekels a month, remaining in Brick's bank account instead of being transferred to their intended beneficiaries.

4.Shlomo Ashkenazi, Vice CEO of the IAA, was questioned on his family relations with Brick's owners, which evidently did not prevent him from being involved in business relations between Brick and the IAA - a crystal clear conflict of interests.

Following meetings with employees of the IAA, it turned out that the IAA's claim, that there is no logic hiring excavators in light of the temporary nature of this job, are unfounded. The IAA employs directly several groups of excavators in different parts of the country, alongside hundreds of excavators employed by Brick. These groups of workers are entitled to regular salaries, various premiums, convalescence pay, paid holiday leave and pension settlement; Brick employees can only dream of such conditions.

WAC demands that the IAA implement the Amendment to the letter, and absorb the claimants as its own employees.

WAC has established an action team that aims to unionize IAA workers. Among its members are Jews and Arabs, archeologists and laborers, as well as IAA and Brick employees. WAC appealed to former and present employees of the IAA to join the struggle.

For further info contact Erez Wagner, WAC coordinator in Jerusalem: 054-6343961