01.10.09

Salit Quarry Workers Fix Date for Workers Committee Elections

The first day of October was an historic day for the workers of the Salit Quarry: during a general meeting, the workers fixed a date for electing a workers committee. This will be the first time such a committee has been formed for workers of the quarry since it was established near the Adumim Industrial Park in the West Bank in 1984. The general meeting, initiated by the Workers Advice Center (WAC), also laid out the procedures for the election in accordance with WAC protocols and the commonly accepted norms of worker committee elections.
Of the 37 workers employed at the quarry, 30 attended the meeting during which WAC national coordinator Assaf Adiv talked about the two years of struggle that had been waged to persuade the quarry management to allow the elections. Later in the meeting, the workers voted unanimously for the election committee whose role is to ensure that the elections are held according to the correct procedures.
Workers were then invited to submit candidates for the committee. Five workers put themselves forward. According to the protocol, any worker may present himself as a candidate if he has the signed support of at least five workers and submits his candidacy before 10 October. The elections will be held on 13 October.
It should be noted that the quarry management has already announced, via its representative Attorney Assaf Shapira, that it is willing to enter negotiations immediately concerning collective agreements covering work conditions, internal arrangements, wages and other issues, as soon as the committee has been elected.