Yachimovich urges Hot boycott over unionization opposition
Labor Party chairwoman MK Shelly Yachimovich is calling for the boycott because of the company’s treatment of its employees.
“I have a small request: don’t switch to Hot, and I am really trying not to be more sharply worded,” wrote Labor Party chairwoman MK Shelly Yachimovich on her Facebook page today, in a call to the public to boycott Hot Telecommunication Systems Ltd. (TASE: HOT.B1), owned by Patrick Drahi, over its treatment of employees who are trying to unionize.
“I would not raise the issue were it not for your new advertisement, which sweats from the effort to impress (the point of which I didn’t understand anyway). It is an advertisement that asks you to switch to them, precisely when they are crushing their employees. They are relying on this advertisement, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the midst of a workers’ struggle, to nimbly erase management’s violent and aggressive conduct toward its workers. Erase the fact that they absolutely refuse to recognize the new union which was established over a month ago. Erase the violent and brutal measures to outsource workers and to harm the union organizers. This will not work,” said Yachimovich.
Yachimovich compared HOT with other companies which fought against unionization, such as mobile carriers Pelephone Communications Ltd. and Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL).
HOT has not responded to Yachimovich’s post.