AIG Israel Employees Strike Over Contract Talks, Management Threatens Pay Cuts

Employees of the insurance company AIG in Israel are continuing their organizational actions this week amid a deadlock in collective bargaining negotiations. On Monday, service department employees handling car, home, mortgage, and operations insurance went on strike. This follows a company-wide strike on Friday that encompassed all AIG centers, including sales, customer service, claims, and headquarters.

The actions stem from a breakdown in negotiations between AIG management and the workers' committee, represented by the Histadrut labor union, after nearly a year of discussions for a new collective agreement. The workers' committee claims a significant gap remains between the management's offer and standard industry agreements, despite the company's strong business results in the past year and the first half of 2026.

A key point of contention is the company's plan to implement a voice agent, designed to mimic human service representatives. The union fears this technology could impact job security and employment levels. Employees demand that the integration of this technology and its workforce implications be addressed within the collective agreement.

Tomer Malul, chairman of the AIG workers' committee, stated, "Instead of calling us to effective negotiations that will lead to a solution, management chooses to threaten employees with pay deductions. That didn't work in the past and it won't work today. We make it clear once again: the moment management enters into real negotiations, with the intention of moving forward and reaching a new agreement, we will be ready to freeze the sanctions."

AIG responded, "We are prepared to continue providing service to our customers even during the strike, and we are working to minimize the impact on service as much as possible. AIG employees are the heart of the company, and we appreciate them and their contribution. We have been negotiating for a year to renew the collective agreement, and we presented worthy and good offers that the workers' committee chose to reject, and even broke off negotiations last Thursday. Unfortunately, the workers' committee chooses to take irresponsible work disruptions that harm the employees themselves first and foremost. The company's management calls on the workers' committee to immediately cease the work disruptions and return to the negotiating table."