Israeli public sector workers involved in disputes with their workplaces have a new institution to rely on that aims to improve the culture of workplace disputes. Six months ago, the Institution for Labor Relations in the Public Sector was established thanks to an agreement signed between Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David and Wage Commissioner Efi Malkin in July 2023.
“Our goal is not just to resolve disputes and sign collective agreements but also to emphasize the process through mediation and developing a culture of dialogue in labor relations,” Noam Riff, head of the institution, told Davar.
The Institution for Labor Relations is an evolution of an older body, the Agreed Arbitration Institution, which was established in 1977 as part of an agreement between the Histadrut and the Israeli government to address a wave of strikes in the public sector.
In practice, the Agreed Arbitration Institution was rarely utilized. In its early years, it handled only a few disputes annually, and in the last two decades, even fewer.
“Everyone knew there was an arbitration institution, but the parties didn’t want to go to it,” Riff said. “The parties in labor relations have a reluctance toward arbitration, which carries many risks and takes away their ability to be part of the decision-making process. Unlike mediation, where the parties themselves ultimately strive for an agreed-upon solution, an arbitrator is an external figure, and the solution they provide does not necessarily align with the daily reality of labor relations.”
As part of the recent agreement between the Histadrut and the state, the institution essentially changed its purpose to focus on mediation rather than arbitration.
Under mediation, workers and employers come to work toward a shared goal of solving a problem rather than taking a combative stance. “They begin to understand each other’s needs and desires and want to collaborate to find a solution that is more than just a compromise, one that is truly beneficial for everyone,” Riff said. “This greatly builds trust. It creates a sense that we are all part of something bigger. In the end, it strengthens us as a society. That is why I believe in mediation, and I sincerely hope it will bring positive change.”
Mediation is more often attractive to disputing parties than arbitration, Riff explained.
“Mediation with us is always voluntary, always at the request of the parties, where neither side gives up their rights or power, neither managerial prerogative nor the right to strike,” he said. “Our assumption is that both public sector employers and the Histadrut have excellent professionals who understand what is important to management and employees. Therefore, our role as mediators is to focus on reaching agreements and creating conditions for listening and mutual trust. The content of the agreements will come from the parties themselves, who know best what they need. Mediation is simply a continuation of negotiations, with the assistance of a neutral third party who has the tools to help.”
According to Riff, the institution’s significant advantage is not only that it resulted from an agreement between the parties, who expressed confidence in mediation as a tool for contributing to their negotiations, but also the fact that each mediator operating within the institution was appointed by mutual agreement between the state and the Histadrut. “We already see that this influences other public employers and their unions, who find it easier and more convenient to approach a joint institution that is recognized by both the wage commissioner at the Ministry of Finance and the chairman of the Histadrut, with all involved having extensive expertise in public sector labor relations.”
Alongside Riff, three additional mediators serve in the institution, all agreed upon by the Histadrut and the Ministry of Finance and possessing years of experience in negotiations and mediation: retired judge Eyal Avrahami, former president of the Regional Labor Court in Jerusalem; former Wage Commissioner Yuval Rachlevsky; and former Regional Labor Relations Supervisor Merav Halevi.
The employers who can use the institution’s services include all public sector employers, including government agencies, local authorities, government companies, statutory corporations, and others under the supervision of the salary commissioner, provided that their employees are represented by the Histadrut (as opposed to sectors represented by other unions, such as teachers unions). The institution is currently conducting its first mediation process, and several public bodies have already expressed interest in engaging in additional mediation processes.
Rachlevsky, one of the institution’s mediators, told Davar that he tried to avoid bringing decisions to the Agreed Arbitration Institution during his time as salary commissioner. But in 2000, he got the idea to use mediation to bring an end to the doctor’s strike, which had been going on for more than 100 days.
“In the end, we managed to reach an agreement that ensured 10 years of labor peace,” Rachlevsky said. “Mediation processes have ultimately proven themselves.”
Avrahami, the former president of Jerusalem’s labor court, said that his vision for the institution is one of “tikkun olam,” the Jewish concept of repairing a broken world.
“Fixing discourse in society starts with fixing workplaces. The value of peace is a central value in Jewish thought, and in order to achieve peace among us, we need to learn to talk more,” he said. “Our role is to bring people into continuous dialogue and conversation. To create lasting relationships.”
Until now, in the absence of an institution agreed upon by both sides to promote arbitration, many major labor disputes in Israel ended up in labor courts like Avrahami’s.
“Labor courts have always believed that their role is to bring the disputing parties to dialogue,” Avrahami said, noting that over the years, a practice of guiding disputes and striving for agreements developed within judges’ chambers, often even without lawyers. “However, there are things that a mediator can do that a labor court cannot, most significantly, the ability to meet with each party separately, which is something a judge cannot do in court.”
The ability to meet separately with each party is particularly important because in large labor disputes, there are often internal tensions within the parties themselves, between different sectors within the union, and on the other side, between management, the Ministry of Finance’s Salary Department, and the legal departments of the involved parties. “Each such dispute often involves multiple participants, and to break through and find creative, out-of-the-box solutions, you need to understand the interests, needs, and fears of each involved party,” Avrahami explained. “This requires tailoring a unique mediation process for each dispute. A mediator’s role in this situation, when there are 10 to 12 voices in the room, is to build a plan and lay it out on the table.”
Halevi, the former regional labor relations supervisor, described labor dispute as an inherent aspect of labor relations. “The question is not whether disputes will occur, but how they will unfold,” she told Davar. “I see that, too often, parties come to mediation only at a late stage, after an external entity like the labor court forces it upon them, which is unfortunate. I hope that the establishment of the institution will encourage labor relations parties to enter the mediation process earlier because disputes are always susceptible to escalation and deterioration. If this process is not stopped in time, trust is eroded, and the opposing side is demonized, making it much harder to reach a resolution.”
“I believe the new institution has far more power to create a cultural shift in resolving labor disputes in Israel than any individual mediator,” she continued.
The new institution benefits all of Israeli society, not just public sector workers, Rachlevsky said. “Any public sector labor dispute that leads to strikes and disruptions ultimately means that the public does not receive services, whether it’s ports or government offices. Our goal is to deescalate tensions,” he explained.
This article was translated from Hebrew by Ronen Cohen.
