The Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court issued an order on Sunday that prevents the management of 10bis, a popular Israeli food delivery app, from intervening in workers’ efforts to unionize.
Over a thousand couriers for 10bis chose to unionize in October, when the campaign first went public. Since then, efforts to sign up more workers have been ongoing. The union is demanding that 10bis provide accident insurance and overtime pay, in light of frequent accidents and injuries that workers experience on the job.
10bis, which roughly translates to “give a bite,” partners with Israeli high tech firms and restaurants to offer speedy food delivery. 10bis hired hundreds of new employees in recent months, as food orders increased during coronavirus lockdowns that shuttered restaurants.
The court issued a restraining order against the 10bis management in light of the company’s efforts to intervene in the unionization campaign. It ordered senior executives to stop supervising workers’ efforts to register new union members. It also ordered the company to cease operating a company-backed workers’ forum that management presented to workers as an alternative to unionization.
The court’s decision states that 10bis must ensure its managers do not unfairly influence employees regarding the unionization, whether directly or indirectly.
Judge Hadas Yahalom ordered that 10bis stop convening a company-backed workers’ forum, the so-called “Scooter Forum,” until a final decision is reached on its legality. The management established this forum near the beginning of the unionization effort, purportedly to “promote a channel of dialogue between management and employees.” During the court proceedings, however, evidence was presented that suggests the forum is an attempt by management to present an alternative to unionization.
The court hearing took place at the request of the Histadrut, which submitted an appeal to stop management’s intervention in the unionization campaign.
10bis issued a statement on the court’s decision, asserting the legitimacy of the Scooter Forum. “The court has rejected the Histadrut’s attempt to prohibit free dialogue about unionization,” the statement read. “The prohibition on the Scooter Forum is only temporary, pending future decisions. It should be noted that the Scooter Forum is a forum of employee representatives elected by the employees themselves, whose activities began before the unionization campaign. The purpose of the forum is to solve problems that employees experience. It is therefore puzzling to us that the Histadrut, which seeks to promote workers’ rights, opposes an authentic, elected forum of workers' representatives.”
