The General Assembly of the Associate Faculty Organization (formerly the Associate Academic Staff) at Tel Aviv University decided last week to declare a labor dispute, following the university management's decision to significantly restrict the information provided to the workers' union.
The declaration of the labor dispute was accepted unanimously at the organization's General Assembly. In accordance with the law, a 15-day cooling-off period will now begin, after which the Organization will be permitted to take organizational action.
According to the Organization, for many years the university management provided full employment data for faculty members six times a year, excluding personal salary data and subject to strict confidentiality agreements. Recently the university management decided, unilaterally, to significantly reduce the scope of information transferred to the organization. The organization claims that this is essential information that enables it to represent faculty members, conduct collective bargaining, and oversee the implementation of the collective agreement.
According to them, without access to this information, the organization's ability to help employees exercise their rights and to identify cases of rights violations or inadequate implementation of the agreement is compromised. The organization claims, for example, that the move makes it difficult to verify eligibility for appointments and letters of commitment, to identify cases of underemployment, to accompany employees to hearings, and to handle a wide range of issues concerning faculty rights.
Ori Wollman, Chairman of the Associate Faculty Organization, stated: “Managing a system of collective labor relations is a complex and challenging matter, and therefore it requires conducting oneself in good faith, with transparency, and with mutual respect. Instead of acting in this spirit, the university management chooses time and again to harm the workers' union's ability to fulfil its role and protect the rights of the faculty members.”
“The information that the university seeks to withhold from us is not a privilege or a gesture of goodwill. This is vital information for the proper functioning of a workers' union. Harming access to such information is a direct blow to our ability to ensure that the collective agreement is implemented and that the rights of both female and male employees are protected. The university management often speaks about democracy and pluralism. It is time for them to understand that workers' rights are also not just a slogan, but a fundamental right rooted in law. We will not tolerate attempts to harm our ability to represent the faculty and protect their rights.”
