El Al's board authorized management to apply streamlining measures

El Al’s board authorized CEO Haim Romano last week to undertake agreed upon streamlining measures in order to reduce the company's labor costs
 
The measures include cancelling the collective agreements with employees no later than December 31, 2007, 170 more lay-offs, and cutting $20 million in various employee benefits.
 
Negotiations between El Al’s management and employees began in September 2006, when both sides agreed that there was no alternative to streamlining because of the airline’s serious economic situation. Both parties agreed at that time to cut employee benefits by $20 million and 600 lay-offs.
 
The latest labor dispute at El Al erupted last week after Histadrut Trade Unions Division chairman Tzachi Tabakman said that El Al’s management was pressuring employees to sign a streamlining agreement within two days, or else it would cancel the collective labor agreement.
 
In response to the Histadrut’s statement, El Al’s management said that it was doing everything possible to promote dialogue with employees on the basis of the understandings reached last year.
 
El Al claims that negotiations between the parties had lasted longer than agreed to, despite repeated promises to finish them expeditiously, and even though the parties had agreed to begin implementing streamlining measures in January 2007.