Prominent Likud member warns of massive layoffs
The chairman of the Knesset's Labor, Welfare and Health Committee, Haim Katz, warns of a massive layoff wave in the Israeli job market, accusing Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennet for not fighting it.
"Maybe you have an explanation for Ofer Eini's sudden quitting of the Histadrut [labor federation] leadership?" I pose this question to Haim Katz, Knesset member on behalf of the Likud Party and chairman of the Knesset's Labor, Welfare and Health Committee. Katz also serves as chairman of the Aerospace Industries union, and organized labor is truly the very hub of his political activity. Our talk takes place a short time after Eini dropped his bombshell on Nov. 5, only 1 1/2 years after his re-election as chairman of the largest worker's union in Israel. His surprising announcement aroused great interest in the political agenda and the media.
"I don't know," answered Katz in a surprised tone. Several hours after the talk, it was publicized that the prime minister examined the possibility of running him as candidate for Histadrut chief instead of Eini, but this is not possible due to procedural reasons, and therefore this is not an option on the table. Meanwhile, Katz thinks that Eini should remain in his post until at least the summer, to step into the breach against the mass dismissals expected to take place in the economy. He even sends a hue and cry in Eini's direction.
"We are seeing a miniature collapse in the labor relations system," Katz explained. "Everything taking place in Teva [pharmaceutical], in Pelephone [telecommunications] — the workers agree to the layoffs, and I am afraid of what will happen in the defense industries. It appears as if we are facing a large wave of layoffs. Therefore, I call upon Eini, the defender of the laborers, to delay his resignation and consider this time period as an opportunity to extricate the economy from the situation. He should delay the step [resignation] until August 2014."
