The workers committee of Israel Chemicals subsidiary Bromine Compounds Bromine Compounds went out on strike today, following a hearing regarding the laying off of 140 workers. Last week letters of termination were sent after negotiations between the workers and management were derailed. This is the first part of a two-step move to entirely discontinue work at the ICL facilities.
At the same time, chairman of the committee, Avner Ben Senior, sent a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu asking him to intervene in the company's actions, saying, "It is inconceivable that a company that is the beneficiary of billions of shekels per year from a natural resource that belongs to the citizens of the State of Israel should be allowed to fire the workers in the Negev and destroy a region, which under your leadership has been slated for development, and lay to waste the area in order to punish the government of Israel, the State of Israel and the citizens of Israel, because they dare to touch the deep pocket of Idan Ofer."