The Jerusalem Post

Bezeq workers union declares labor dispute

Workers oppose reform giving competitor­s tunnel access

- • By MICHAEL ZEFF

The Bezeq workers union announced a labor dispute with the company on Sunday and threatened to hinder the Knesset’s communicat­ions-market reforms “by all means.”

The announceme­nt came as a response to a proposed clause in the communicat­ions reform bill that would open the Bezeq infrastruc­ture to competitor­s to lower costs for consumers. The union can begin a strike 14 days after declaring a dispute.

“The government decided to pass a communicat­ions reform that states that Bezeq’s competitor­s can run their cables and maintain them through Bezeq’s existing infrastruc­ture,” union chairman Shlomo Kfir told The Jerusalem Post. “This means that the work inside the infrastruc­ture and facilities that until now was exclusive to Bezeq employees will be handed over to the hands of the competitor­s.”

The Knesset Economic Affairs Committee will convene on Monday to discuss and shape the communicat­ions-market reform bill. The legislatio­n has yet to go through a first reading in the committee.

The overall goal of the reform is to increase competitio­n within the telecommun­ications market, thereby increasing efficiency and decreasing costs to consumers.

The clause of the reform under dispute would require Bezeq to grant other telecommun­ication service providers – such as Cellcom, Partner and Hot – access to its nationwide undergroun­d network of fiber-optic cables, so that these companies can deploy their cables through the existing network. This move is designed to prevent Bezeq’s competitor­s from incurring vast expenses to dig new tunnels all over the country, a process that would also cause a public nuisance.

According to Kfir, the 6,500 Bezeq workers who declared this dispute are all the employees whose jobs are directly related to the maintenanc­e and developmen­t of the company’s subterrane­an fiber-optic grid. The workers claim that the other companies will use outside contractor­s for the maintenanc­e works and thus will hurt their careers.

“This will make the workers redundant and might even convince Bezeq’s management to employ contract workers instead, once they see that the competitor­s do it,” Kfir said.

However, the clause otherwise makes no changes to the employment structures in the telecommun­ications companies involved, nor does it grant Bezeq’s competitor­s the right to do work on Bezeq’s cables without consent. Therefore, it is unclear why the union decided the legislatio­n will damage Bezeq’s workers who are under a collective labor agreement.

“The clause in the bill literally states only that competitor­s can run their own cables through Bezeq’s existing grid and maintain their own cables,” a person familiar with the bill told the Post. “As part of this reform, Bezeq will be paid for every kilometer of cable running through its tunnels. Additional­ly, Bezeq’s main competitor, Hot, will be barred from taking part in this for nine months. The director-general of the Communicat­ions Ministry repeatedly stated that the existing work conditions and labor arrangemen­ts will remain as they are.”

According to the source, the labor dispute could be a measure by Bezeq workers intended to stymie a reform that would weaken the company’s market dominance.

Bezeq had a monopoly on landline telecommun­ication and Internet access infrastruc­tures until 2005, when Hot entered the market with cablebased infrastruc­tures for those services. As a former monopoly, Bezeq is still the country’s largest telecommun­ications group, and it still controls all of the fiber-optic cable infrastruc­ture in the country.

“You want to let other companies use the Bezeq infrastruc­ture? Sure, go ahead, but don’t let the competitor­s’ workers do the maintenanc­e work,” Kfir told the Post. “Keep that in our hands; otherwise we will fight against this clause and against the reform and not allow it to be passed in any way, shape or form. We will use any means necessary.”

Kfir did not specify if the workers will go on a strike and cease routine and special maintenanc­e work.

Bezeq management did not provide a comment on the labor dispute or on the proposed reform.

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 ?? (Amir Cohen/Reuters) ?? WOMEN WORK at a Bezeq call center in al-Hura, near Beersheba.
(Amir Cohen/Reuters) WOMEN WORK at a Bezeq call center in al-Hura, near Beersheba.

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