International Bank Workers Threaten Strike Over Remote Work Policy Reversal

Tensions are escalating between the management of Israel's International Bank and the employees of its technology subsidiary, Matef, over the bank's unilateral decision to cancel remote work options. On August 28, the workers' union and the Histadrut labor federation sent a letter accusing the bank's management of ending work-from-home arrangements without negotiation, as part of a broader organizational restructuring whose impact on employees was not agreed upon. The union demands that the bank maintain at least one remote workday per week during ongoing negotiations and warns that failure to do so will lead to expanded industrial actions, including a potential general strike.

The Histadrut criticized the bank's handling of employee relations, stating that the recent measures cross red lines in labor relations. Matef employees have been protesting for months against what they perceive as deteriorating employment conditions. Meanwhile, Matef management declared the ongoing strikes illegal and threatened to classify participating workers as part-time employees, potentially refusing to employ them under such terms. Concurrently, the International Bank plans to merge Matef into the bank itself as part of a cost-cutting structural reform.