The Histadrut Labor Federation announced on Thursday a labor dispute at ECI Telecom Limited, following the Petach Tikva telecommunications-equipment supplier's announcement yesterday that it intends to fire about 100 of its 800 employees in Israel within two weeks of the announcement.
The Histadrut accused the company of lack of due process and said the layoff announcement followed labor's demand to expedite the negotiations for the collective bargaining agreement. This morning, parallel to the declaration of the labor dispute, the workers' committee and other activists organized a protest rally in Kfar Shmaryahu, opposite the house of controlling shareholder Shaul Shani. Later in the day, employees at the company are expected to hold a planning and preparation meeting in advance of the next protest steps, in an attempt to prevent the layoffs.