Business in Brief

License Bureaus in solidarity strike today

License Bureaus will be closed today to the public from 9:00 A.M. The Histadrut labor federation continues to back a series of strikes in government ministries and public institutions, as a show of support for Water Authority employees who have been on strike for five and a half weeks. Histadrut sanctions have paralyzed operations in various government organizations over the past few days. The Finance Ministry, says the Histadrut, is refusing to negotiate with Water Authority workers over their demands for a collective labor agreement. However the ministry says discussions are underway, but that workers are demanding a wage hike of NIS 2,500 - which they claim is excessive as their wages are already higher than average for public sector employees. (Haim Bior)

Microsoft's local R&D poised to expand

Microsoft's research and development center in Israel is set to hire dozens of new employees, in one of the largest recent hiring campaigns in the Israeli high-tech industry. Microsoft is expanding its R&D activity in the security field, following the center's launch of a new product that enables secure remote access to business' computer resources. The new product is based on technology developed by Whale Communications, an Israeli startup acquired by Microsoft in 2006 for $80 million. Whale's 40 employees were integrated into Microsoft's development center following the acquisition. (Orr Hirschauge)

Foreign airline revenues dropped 20% in 2009

Foreign airlines in Israel saw their revenues plummet by 20% in 2009, compared to 2008. The airlines took in about NIS 1 billion last year. The airlines say the cause was the fierce competition last year, which forced them to lower prices, along with the drop in travel brought on by the world economic crisis. Some 10.5 million international passengers passed through Ben-Gurion International Airport in 2009, reported the Israel Airports Authority - a 5% drop from 2008. Turkish Airlines still carried the most passengers of any of the foreign carriers, 308,400; followed by Delta with 272,100. Next came Swiss, British Airways and Air France. The air cargo business actually picked up slightly in 2009. (Zohar Blumenkrantz)

Finance Ministry officially objects to paying cleaners any more than minimum wage

The Finance Ministry objects to extending the collective bargaining agreement that would pay cleaning workers 20% above the minimum wage they now receive - saying it would cost the state budget too much money. The treasury sent a letter on the matter to the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry, which is responsible for issuing the regulations on the matter. In August, the Histadrut labor federation signed an agreement with the organization of cleaning companies, in which workers would receive not only raises but also higher pension contributions and more vacation. The treasury stated in its letter that these changes would cost the state almost NIS 1 billion a year. In addition, the treasury said it was worried that the agreement would be expanded to include security guards and other workers. (Haim Bior)

Banks may give Tefron $30 million chance to patch up frayed finances

Cash-distressed textile company Tefron, which has issued a going-concern warning, says it may get a new lease on life through a credit agreement with its financing banks - Leumi, Discount and Hapoalim. Under the agreement being negotiated, Tefron will receive $30.7 million in short- and long-term credit, based on the company's current debt of $28.9 million plus new credit totaling $1.8 million. Norfat, a partnership of Mivtach Shamir and the FIMI fund, will guarantee the debt in full even though the firm owns just 20% of Tefron's shares. The credit will be divided among a $15 million, 10-year loan (with most of the loan and interest falling due in the 10th year), a $5 million, six-year loan, and an additional $10 million in credit for ongoing operations. (Yoram Gabison)