Ashdod Port workers agreed last week to halt their sanctions and return to work.
The decision was made after reaching an agreement with port's management to defer implementing an anti-nepotism regulation. The agreement was brokered by the Jerusalem labor court.
The latest round of unrest at the port was triggered by the board decision on December 25 to eliminate nepotism in hiring workers. The decision aimed to prevent conflicts of interest. The decision said that relatives of port workers shouldn’t be hired to work in the offices of senior port officials such as the CEO, legal advisor and comptroller.
The sanctions created a great deal of hardship to local exporters and importers. The manufacturers association of Israel estimated that the damage to the economy as a whole is around 20- 25 million Shekels per day. Dr. Gad Schaeffer the chairman of the Israeli Shipper's Council sent an angry letter to Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz demanding that he intervene. Schaeffer wrote “Port workers do whatever they please, and the damage to the cargo owners just keeps growing.” Schaeffer added “Exporters are losing deals because they can’t meet supply deadlines,” he charged, adding that the supply chain to manufacturers has been disrupted.
