The 750 Comverse Technology employees have unionized under the auspices of Israel’s main trade union, the Histadrut General Federation of Labor, after more than a third had signed the forms for joining.
Vicky Halutzi, chairman of the Mobile, Internet and High-Tech Workers Union, on Thursday informed the Company management of the development.
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According to the Histadrut, “the move to organize materialized as a result of the desire of employees to guarantee their job security and improve their employment conditions.”
Comverse was founded in Israel in 1982 by Kobi Alexander. Headquartered in the United States, the company, which boasts some 350 customers worldwide, is engaged mainly in developing and marketing billing systems, as well as infrastructure and value added services for the mobile industry, such as voicemail, text messages, voice messages, Voice to SMS conversion, and MMS messages.
The company employs a total of about 3, 000 employees, 750 of them in Israel.
Its offices have recently moved from Tel Aviv to Ra’anana.
In recent years, Comverse has experienced frequent layoff waves. By way of illustration, the number of workers in the Israeli branch stood at 3, 000 a decade ago.
The Histadrut said in a statement that “Comverse employees are joining tens of thousands of paid workers who are organized in the union the Histadrut established last year for mobile, Internet and high-tech employees.
“Since its foundation, thousands of employees in large high-tech companies, such as SAP, Ness Technologies, Cellcom, Pelephone, HOT Mobile and Partner, and Bezeq International have joined.”
“The purpose of the association is to bring the company to growth, ” the Comverse employees’ steering acommittee said in a statement. “The success of the workers will also lead the company’s success. We intend to be a strong body — both for the workers and for the benefit of Comverse. We will work to create a healthy and proper dialogue between management and employees, to bring stability to the Company and will return a sense of hope to all the workers.”
Histadrut Chairman Avi Nissenkorn noted that “Comverse employees chose to increase their strength and make social change by organizing in the Histadrut. This association demonstrates that more and more workers in all industries, including high tech, believe in the power of organized labor, which can ensure their job security and improve the conditions of their employment.
“I call on the Comverse management to respect the will of their employees and to open negotiations with them and with us immediately, in order to establish the agreements between the parties in the collective agreement.”
