International Bank IT Workers Launch Strike Over Remote Work Dispute and Cyber Drill Boycott
The labor dispute at the International Bank's IT subsidiary, Metaf, has escalated as workers initiated organized strikes following the expiration of a mandatory 15-day cooling-off period. The Metaf workers' committee announced a boycott of the annual "Tisha B'Av" cyber drill, a major nationwide exercise testing the banking sector's readiness for extreme events like cyberattacks. Employees were instructed not to participate in any preparations or activities related to the drill before, during, or after the holiday.
The core conflict centers on the bank management's unilateral demand to reduce remote work and increase physical presence at bank branches, despite remote work being formally established in the previous collective agreement. The workers' committee claims it proposed several alternatives to resolve the remote work issue, all rejected by management. Committee chairman Dudu Dahan sharply criticized the management for its "bullying tactics" and called on employees to stand united in the strike, emphasizing the legal backing of the labor federation for their actions.
Metaf, a fully owned subsidiary of the International Bank with around 500 employees, operates as the technological and operational backbone for the bank's core systems, cybersecurity, and digital applications. Although the previous collective agreement was signed in July 2023 and valid until the end of 2025, negotiations for a new agreement have stalled for over six months. Besides remote work, disputes also involve signing bonuses and demands to shorten the workday, amid upcoming internal elections for a new workers' committee.
This strike is part of broader labor tensions at the International Bank, which recently faced escalating conflicts with its managers' committee over demands to cancel a historic wage alignment agreement with Bank Leumi managers, bonus distribution for 2024 profits, and heavy workloads. While the managers have requested a labor dispute declaration from the labor federation, no official dispute has yet been declared there.
