(haipo) - The workers of the 'Dagon' silos are protesting the bad employment conditions and the ongoing job insecurity they suffer from.
"We only ask for what we deserve"
The chairman of the 'Dagon' workers' council, Shimon Amar, tells Live Here that all the 61 silo workers are asking for is a fair wage that reflects the hard and intensive work they perform every day, and appropriate conditions, as they deserve.
"We are now in a labor dispute, when the Histadrut goes hand in hand with us. I have been working here for 4 years. There are workers here for 10 and 15 years. It is very important to understand what kind of work it is. We work in hard physical work, and with a lot of dust. Ships arrive with a lot of dust And we, the employees, deal with it."
The largest silo in Israel
"It is clear to us that the grain needs to be brought into the country," says Amar, "this is critical, and it is very important for us not to delay any unloading of any ship, because it costs tens of thousands of dollars for each day of delay. We are really doing our best here. You have to understand that our silo It is the largest silo in the country. To our credit, we thought that during the Corona period we worked endlessly, but it seems to me that this year we unloaded even more goods."
Any delay in work may make bread more expensive
Every Haifai knows the huge unique building that is located in the lower city, near the port of Haifa. Dagon silos were established in 1955 by Dr. Reuven Hecht. For the Haifaites, Dagon is the large building that they pass by on their way to some place in the city, the one that crowds of birds are drawn to because of the grain stored in it and decorate it on a regular basis. The people that this is their workplace know the work The Sisyphean and difficult work that goes on inside him in 8-hour shifts, which often last much longer than that.
80% of the grain of the State of Israel passes through the silo and the factory in Haifa, which is considered an essential factory, and any significant delay in work may lead to an increase in bread prices in the entire country.
Employees leave - and new ones do not arrive
"We work with limited personnel. People retired and no new ones came in, even if someone new comes, it takes a long time to learn the job. We are the biggest silo, it is very difficult to find someone experienced to start working for us."
"Cameras that look at us at work and at rest"
"We have 61 employees, until April 2019 we had the previous employer (Dagon). In April 2019, a tender was issued and Dagon did not want to sign a salary agreement with us, because they knew there was going to be a new employer. As soon as Gadot became our employer, we made a transition agreement with them ( temporary agreement) for six months. We agreed with them that by July we need to sign an agreement. The day before they announced that they could not sign an agreement with us, and if that was not enough, they started bringing us contractor workers and putting cameras that monitor the workers during work and during rest." .
"asking for minimal rights"
"We are in an open labor dispute. We are responsible and do not want to stop the silo, we are not a powerful committee. On the other hand, we want to receive the minimum rights we deserve. We have third generation workers, who earn very low wages. We want something respectful for all the workers here , what we demand is really not in the sky, we are not looking to make things difficult, simply to earn a salary that reflects our hard work."
A burden on the employees who remain
"At the last minute, they left us hanging and did not agree to sign an employment agreement with us, we are without security. The other day, an old employee announced that he was leaving, an employee who had been with us for 15 years. He was also supposed to start training a new employee, so his departure caused us a double loss. We enter to a deficit of workers, and the work falls on the workers who remain, and it is a very difficult job."
"Taking advantage of the fact that we care"
"There are workers here for many years, with families, who want to make a living and who care about the silo, and people take advantage of that. You have to understand that whoever works here, this is what he knows how to do, he has no other job to go to."
Currently the company 'Gadot' manages the silos. In the future, the Israel Ports Company is supposed to issue a new tender, but until this happens, it will not be possible to sign an employment agreement that will allow the workers to receive the conditions they demand. For them, after so much time without an agreement and without minimum conditions, they are not willing to wait any longer.
You are right in your fight for the basic rights to support a family with respect with decent salaries and not as miserable as those who maintain a pen there is an abandonment of workers who simply could not survive this unjustified wage along with the cost of living in the end Hani and Gadot will understand only the hard way to take down the shelter and bring out the unloaders and strike only This is how they will understand the power of the workers, only in this way will they understand the value of the workers who work Sisyphean work that is hard, really hard, this is the appropriate term for this work, every worker and worker deserves the respect he deserves to come home after a day's work with his head held high knowing that the salary at least comforts him and that he can To support his family with respect and success, dear brothers, loves you and strengthens you with success
Unfortunately, evil spirits are blowing in the Holy Land and the syndrome of the "big brother" who watches and searches for good and loyal employees solely because of a sick policy bordering on a serious mental illness that cannot be treated! To cause deterioration of conditions and how to network with cameras in the field, suspicions, concerns that employees are cheating / non-employees are conspiring.... This reminds me of the retarded trend that is excited at my work due to the "boss and the boss's bosses" who live 24/7 the world of lies. G-d will collapse and crash both these and these!
The Histadrut should be disbanded. All these restrictions and regulations are what prevent us from moving forward. An employee should know that if he causes problems, a thousand will be brought in his place and therefore he should bring the best quality work he can give, which will make the work of the entire economy to be high quality and advanced and instead of paying salaries to ineffective employees, the real money will go to the good employees.
If the safety conditions are in fact poor, then I would expect them to ask to add more safety measures, and not money for the salary.. but it is clear to everyone why they do it, extortion.
You deserve a fair wage and good conditions..you do important work..the problem is that this country only understands power..to those who have power..raise the salary..free of access for people to workers and citizens..if you were to generate electricity..immediately there would be They raise your wages... they don't know how to appreciate... neither teachers nor police officers and more and more...
In my opinion, you are right and you should not give up, as soon as you have reduced your manpower, then it is clear that a large burden falls on you and it is obvious that they should reward you for it.