Some 500 employees are striking over layoffs of 120 temporary workers resulting in chaos in departures and arrivals. Thousands of travelers have jammed the arrivals hall where non-striking employees have been unable to overcome the workload caused by hundreds of incoming pieces of luggage. Passengers report waiting as long as 11 hours for their belongings.
The workers defied an order issued Thursday by the Tel Aviv District Labor Court to return to work, refusing to load luggage on to the planes and forcing many planes to depart without their passengers' bags. At midday the workers shut down the main luggage belt which carries the baggage off the planes. More than 24 airliners stood waiting to have boxes and suitcases unloaded by early evening.
Outgoing flights were delayed up to six hours by Friday morning and several left without passengers' luggage.
The strike began Wednesday in response to dismissal notices that were sent to 120 temporary workers. “The management decided, unexpectedly and behind our backs, and despite negotiations, to send the dismissal notices to the workers,” said a member of the labor union.
Talks between the union and airport management have dragged on for two weeks, with little progress seen. “The management is still acting behind our backs, and its purpose is to bypass workers’ contracts and block veteran workers from receiving tenure,” said the unnamed labor official quoted by the Haaretz news service.
Several passengers whose luggage had been delayed due to late connection flights in other cities around the world had yet to receive their bags by Thursday night despite international airline assurances that the bags had indeed been delivered to Ben Gurion Airport.
Airport customer service personnel told those who called to inquire about their belongings that they could not confirm having received the luggage -- even after airline representatives said they received telefax confirmation that the bags had indeed arrived.
One passenger who asked to remain anonymous told Arutz 7 that it had taken two days to reach a customer service representative at the airport, and the worker declined to say whether her bags had been received, “let alone when or if they would be delivered as is usual in such cases.” Her bags reached her home by special delivery on Friday midday.
Airport Authority Director-General Gabi Ophir said dismissal hearings were routine. “Each year we match the manpower we have to the amount needed at the airport….. In the past two weeks we have been conducting talks, yet no progress has been made.”
The Airports Authority reportedly called in tenured employees to fill in for the striking temporary workers.
The workers defied an order issued Thursday by the Tel Aviv District Labor Court to return to work, refusing to load luggage on to the planes and forcing many planes to depart without their passengers' bags. At midday the workers shut down the main luggage belt which carries the baggage off the planes. More than 24 airliners stood waiting to have boxes and suitcases unloaded by early evening.
Outgoing flights were delayed up to six hours by Friday morning and several left without passengers' luggage.
The strike began Wednesday in response to dismissal notices that were sent to 120 temporary workers. “The management decided, unexpectedly and behind our backs, and despite negotiations, to send the dismissal notices to the workers,” said a member of the labor union.
Talks between the union and airport management have dragged on for two weeks, with little progress seen. “The management is still acting behind our backs, and its purpose is to bypass workers’ contracts and block veteran workers from receiving tenure,” said the unnamed labor official quoted by the Haaretz news service.
Several passengers whose luggage had been delayed due to late connection flights in other cities around the world had yet to receive their bags by Thursday night despite international airline assurances that the bags had indeed been delivered to Ben Gurion Airport.
Airport customer service personnel told those who called to inquire about their belongings that they could not confirm having received the luggage -- even after airline representatives said they received telefax confirmation that the bags had indeed arrived.
One passenger who asked to remain anonymous told Arutz 7 that it had taken two days to reach a customer service representative at the airport, and the worker declined to say whether her bags had been received, “let alone when or if they would be delivered as is usual in such cases.” Her bags reached her home by special delivery on Friday midday.
Airport Authority Director-General Gabi Ophir said dismissal hearings were routine. “Each year we match the manpower we have to the amount needed at the airport….. In the past two weeks we have been conducting talks, yet no progress has been made.”
The Airports Authority reportedly called in tenured employees to fill in for the striking temporary workers.