Roughly 8,000 employees of Bank Hapoalim launched a one-day warning strike on Thursday, shutting down 180 branches nationwide, along with advisory centers and call centers.
The workers’ union says the action comes in response to unilateral steps by management, including plans to eliminate about 770 positions and implement organizational changes they argue undermine workers’ rights and job security.
In a statement, Bank Hapoalim said, “The union announced the shutdown of the activity of the collective-agreement employees, and therefore the bank will operate in a limited format. We apologize for the inconvenience. Services through the digital channels continue as usual. The Histadrut declared a labor dispute at the beginning of the month, after several months of negotiations that led to a dead end.”
The union warned that the cuts would increase workloads and ultimately harm customer service. They note that the strike comes as the bank reports record profits of 9 billion shekels, or about $2.7 million, in 2024, with even higher earnings projected for 2025.
Roni Garfunkel, chairman of the Bank Hapoalim Workers’ Union, accused management of being out of touch. “The bank’s management is disconnected,” he said. “While it is rolling in billions in profits, it harms the bank’s dedicated workers, thanks to whom these huge profits were achieved. The bank is cutting hundreds of positions, increasing burdens, and harming the service given to customers—this while management is spending millions of shekels on advertisements and billboards, in which they tell customers about a ‘service revolution.’”
Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David also weighed in, describing the situation as one of the worst labor crises in the economy.
“Labor relations in the bank have recently deteriorated to an unprecedented low, and have become a clear example of one of the most bitter labor relations systems in the economy,” Bar-David said. “While the bank is presenting billions in profits, management chooses to impose the burden of efficiency specifically on the backs of the workers—through cutting positions and forced relocation.”
He cautioned that the unilateral steps could damage customer service. “The bank’s management is disconnected from the field, and forgot that behind every counter and every online service there stand human beings. Without the workers—there is no service, no trust, and no bank,” he said.
Bar-David added that he was personally engaged in the dispute. “The Histadrut under my leadership will stand firmly alongside the union and all of the bank’s employees,” he said. “I will not allow the bank’s CEO, Yadin Antebi, to turn the workers into scapegoats in order to present images of the bank’s profitability. Instead of proving his managerial skills at the expense of the workers, the CEO must show true leadership. The responsibility for the worsening crisis rests exclusively on management, which is trying to stretch the boundaries of what is permitted and forbidden in collective labor relations.”
He stressed that reforms could be pursued without confrontation. “Even if changes and reforms are required to improve the bank’s performance—there is a proper way to do this: dialogue, partnership, and mutual respect. I regret the disconnected and cynical path chosen by management.”
Bar-David concluded with a call for management “to rise to the occasion, stop the harm to the workers, and come to the negotiating table with genuine intent to reach agreements.” “I have no doubt that the public of customers expects Bank Hapoalim first of all to respect the workers, those who are at the front line of service every day, and without whom the bank has no existence,” he said.