8,000 bank employees will hold a one-day warning strike today (Thursday), as part of a warning strike in protest of the cutbacks being promoted by the bank's management.
The employees are protesting what they call "the disconnected conduct of the bank's management," which is promoting a plan of hundreds of cuts to standards and increased workloads, harming the bank's employees, the bank's future, and customers. This is while the bank's management continues to generate record profits of billions of shekels.
As part of the strike, all bank units, including all 180 bank branches from north to south, the consulting centers, and the call center, went on strike.
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This is another step in the workers' struggle after the labor dispute was declared by the Histadrut, in coordination with the workers' organization, at the beginning of the month.
According to the workers, since then, the bank's management has taken no steps to resolve the crisis, ignored the committee's warnings about the worsening of the struggle, and even entrenched itself in its positions and made it clear that it intends to continue with its plans, which mean harm to the status of the workers and to the service provided to the bank's customers.
Over the past few months, the bank's employee organization has been negotiating with management, "but the management is dragging its feet and refusing to freeze the unilateral measures, which it has begun to implement in practice," according to the employees.
The employees mention that "the management's predatory behavior towards its employees is taking place at a time when the bank is reporting huge profits of approximately 9 billion shekels in 2024, and is expected to record even higher profits in 2025.".
The dramatic cuts plan promoted by the bank's management includes the elimination of approximately 770 positions through understaffing and consolidation of jobs, and the forced relocation of hundreds of employees, while harming their salaries and promotion prospects.
Chairman of the Bank Hapoalim Employees' Union, Roni Garfunkel: "The bank's management is disconnected. While it is making billions in profits, it is harming the bank's dedicated employees, thanks to whom these huge profits were achieved. The bank is cutting hundreds of positions, increasing workloads and harming the service provided to customers - all while the management is spending millions of shekels on advertisements and billboards, telling customers about a 'service revolution.'".
Bank Hapoalim stated: The workers' committee has announced the suspension of the activities of the collective agreement employees, and therefore the bank will operate in a reduced format. We apologize for the inconvenience. Services on digital channels are operating as usual.
