There are some dissatisfied aviation employees working at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport in Israel. On Thursday, August 19th, these workers expressed this dissatisfaction by staging a demonstration at their workplace, calling for an increase in pay and changes to an unsatisfactory work environment.
“Those who are left behind must not be abandoned…The Histadrut will continue to act on all fronts to help the aviation industry and prevent its collapse, but we cannot replace the state.” -Arnon Bar-David, Chairman, Histadrut (Labor union)
A two-hour protest with workers of three Israeli airlines
According to Xinhuanet news, airline workers across Israel’s aviation industry staged a demonstration on Thursday between 10:00 and 12:00 local time. This rally, which took place on the apron of Ben Gurion International Airport, was held to express worker dissatisfaction with pay and the work environment.
Hundreds of employees gathered, representing three of Israel’s major airlines: El Al, Israir, and Arkia. Joining in solidarity were employees of Israel’s airport authority. Employees stopped their work during this two-hour period in order to voice their anger.
Histadrut, Israel’s largest worker union, was the main organizer of the demonstration. The union put out a statement on the event, which noted that the union has already warned Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman about the industry’s struggles:
“Given the weight of the hour, I personally urge you to act quickly to inject funds to save the aviation industry in Israel and to save thousands of jobs.” -Arnon Bar-David, Chairman, Histadrut
Bar-David’s message also went to Israel’s Transport Minister, as well as the CEOs of El Al, Arkia, and Israir.
A number of flight disruptions
Xinhuanet reports that a result of the demonstration was the delay of at least 10 departures. Additionally, passenger baggage was left unloaded, sitting on arriving aircraft.
Indeed, if we look at flight data from Ben Gurion International, we can see the following flights were delayed by one to two hours:
- Aegean Airlines to Athens
- Aegean Airlines to Thessaloniki
- Air Canada to Montreal
- Air Moldova to Chisinau
- Azerbaijan Airlines to Baku
- Georgian Airways to Tbilisi
- Israir to Prague
- LOT to Warsaw
- Ryanair to Corfu
- Turkish Airlines to Istanbul
- Wizz Air to Burgas
- Wizz Air to Budapest
It’s a difficult situation for everyone involved, as has been the case for governments and their citizens worldwide. Indeed, the interests of health and safety have had to take priority over maintaining economic activity and protecting jobs connected to the travel industry.
In Israel, thousands of aviation workers have lost their jobs or have been placed on unpaid leave as a result of the crisis. Many of these workers have still not returned to their jobs.
What’s your reaction to this job action? What can or should be done? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.
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