Letter from Parliament : Knesset Member. Haim (Jumas) Oron

19 of November, 2008
(translated from Hebrew by Yarden Hochman)

Vice president of Weizmann Institution of science,
Gad Kover - Gad.Kober@weizmann.ac.il

Hello,

The topic: The organization of the workers of the Science garden in the Weizmann Institution

I address you on this issue following an appeal from workers in the Science garden in the Weizmann Institution.

From this appeal it is understood that the workers decided to realize their right to organize in order to better their employment conditions. According to what the workers of the science garden say, those who deal with instructing tours, administration work and cleaning - are employed in discriminating personal contracts, do not gain the collective contract valid to most workers of the institution and are exposed to a hurting employment frame such as delayed payment, partial payment and more. To the best of my knowledge, this organizing is done by a workers union called "Power to the workers", whose goal is to initiate organizations of workers across the Country.

The workers claim that the Weizmann institution management refuses to acknowledge their organizing and to conduct negotiations with it, conspires against the organized workers, denies them from working until they give up their struggle, terminated the tours to the museum and also denies some of them from entering the institution's grounds.
Following this, the workers commenced protesting actions including weekly demonstrations in the university's entrance.

Also arises from the appeal that in the 16th of November, 2008, security guards attacked five workers from the scientific garden and social activists that wanted to protest the management's attitude towards them in front of the board of trustees which assembled there, this happened before they managed to get to the science garden. One protester was beaten so badly that his knee was broken and he required surgery. The police was summoned to the place and hindered the protesters without attending the wounded.

I turn to you in plea to check why the Weizmann Institution management uses such difficult methods, which include the use of violence from the security guards and means of hurting the subsistence, against the workers organization which asks to fulfill it's rights by law.
Also, I will ask to check the reasons for which the institution's management refuses to acknowledge the organization that represents the workers of the Science garden, which is composed of university students and youths who try, through the way of organizing, to improve their employment conditions.

I will be pleased if you inspect this subject as soon as possible and update me.

With best regards,
M.K. Haim (Jumas) Oron