Earlier this month, the National Labor Court convicted the Victory supermarket chain and its deputy CEO Avraham Ravid of multiple labor law violations. Through a settlement, the company and Ravid agreed to pay 129,000 shekels ($34,271) as a result of violating laws around minimum wage, overtime pay, and deductions from workers’ wages. The chain also committed to refrain from carrying out similar offenses in the future.
Judge Elad Sivion convicted the company and the deputy CEO on the basis of their confession. The company, which runs 67 stores across Israel, was convicted of committing the offenses, while Ravid was convicted by his own admission of liability of a corporate officer and breach of the duty of supervision in violation of the laws. The company was fined 89,000 shekels ($23,653) and Ravid was fined 40,000 shekels ($10,630).
The Labor Ministry's legal bureau filed the indictment following a Ynet investigation that revealed that large supermarket chains were illegally fining their workers and forcing them to pay out of their own pockets for shortfalls at the cash register. The indictment states that the offenses were committed over an extended period of time as part of systematic practice.
In addition to the legal proceedings, administrative proceedings are also underway against Victory for additional violations of labor laws, in which financial sanctions of 340,000 shekels ($90,309) were imposed on the company. A class action lawsuit is being filed in the Haifa Regional Labor Court on the matter.
“Following the injustice done to cashiers, including illegal deductions from their salaries, I instructed the Director of the Regulation & Enforcement Administration at the Ministry of Labor to embark on a nationwide operation to enforce workers' rights and take a tough stance against lawbreakers,” Minister of Labor Yoav Ben-Tzur said. “Unfortunately, we have come across suspicions indicating violations of the cashiers' rights. As Minister of Labor, my policy is clear—zero tolerance on the issue of 'cashier exploitation. I will not allow them to harm populations that earn minimum wage for a living, workers who toil for hours and hours for meager wages, and at the end of their shift are forced to spend money out of their pockets illegally.”
Meir David, director of the Ministry of Labor’s Regulation and Enforcement of Labor Laws Administration, described the illegal activities as “serious offenses that have harmed the economic security of the workers and are intended to generate financial gain for employers at the expense of their workers.”
“This is done through systematic and substantial violations of workers' rights, wages and working conditions,” David said. “The harm is even more severe when it comes to such workers, who have low bargaining power. The Regulation and Enforcement Administration will continue to act against employers who reach into their workers’ pockets illegally, and to protect the social rights of workers.”
A spokesperson for Victory said that the supermarket chain had reached an agreement as part of an arrangement submitted to the labor court. “The labor court did not conduct a hearing to examine the claims, did not establish any evidence of the company's obligation, and even completely dismissed the indictment against the company's CEO,” the spokesperson said.
This article was translated from Hebrew by Benji Sharp.
