Benjamin (Benny) M. Cohen & Co., Law Firm

Benjamin (Benny) M. Cohen & Co., Law Firm specializes in the labor relations field, in its broad sense. The firm, which was established in 1987 by Adv. Benny Cohen, is considered Israel’s leading firm in its practice area, and has vast experience in various aspects of labor law, from salaries and collective labor law, through pension and National Insurance, and up to handling individual claims against employers. The firm’s clientele includes national workers’ unions, general trade unions, workers’ unions in banks as well as employees in public services and the private sector.

Collective Labor law

The firm mainly focuses on active involvement in the support and management of collective labor relationships crises, from determining the source of conflict and the legal and organizational strategy, through the direction of the conflict resolution steps, outlining actionable options and alternatives for various situations during the conflict, and active collective negotiations, up to the formulation of salary, work and workers’ rights agreements, including up-holding rights and ongoing support for the relationships between the workers’ unions and the employers – in both the public and the private sectors.

Prominent Clients

Among the firm’s prominent regular customers over the years: Workers Unions in Banks, Investments Houses, Cellular, Credit and Insurance Companies: Workers of “Discount”, “Leumi”, “Poalim”, Union Bank, “Otzar HaHayal”, “Mercantil”, “Jerusalem Bank”, Massad, Arab-Israeli Bank, Dexia, Discount Mortgagees, Mishkan, Bank of Israel, TASE, Psagot, “Mehish” (owned by “Mizrahi”), Union Systems (owned by Union Bank), CAL, Diners Club, Shaba, Bank Clearing Center, Phoenix Insurance, Phoenix Pensions, “Clal”, “Makefet”, Migdal, Pelephone. Workers Unions in Industrial, Food and Pharma Companies: Tnuva, “Kaniel”, Taro, ICL Fertilizers, Har-Tov Cement, Nesher Cement, Unilever, “Co-Op”, Haifa Refineries, Paz Refineries Ashdod, Tivol, CBC Sales, Standards Institute. Workers Unions in the Defense Industry: IDF Workers Union, Israeli Military Industries, Han Factory, Nesher Israel Factory, Rafael, Galei Tzahal, Research Workers in the Nuclear Research Center (Soreq), and administrative, technical, and engineering staff in the Nuclear Research Facility, research workers in the Biological Institute, Elisra, El-Op. Port, Railways and Aviation Unions: Maritime Officers Union, Transportation Workers Union, Zim, Harbor Pilots in Ashdod Port, Eilat Port workers, Israel Railways, Israel Ports companies, Israeli Airports Authority, QAS Israel. Worker Unions in Hospitals and HMOs: Clalit HMO, Leumit HMO, Clalit Health Services Pharmacists Association, X-Ray Workers Union, Clalit Medical Engineering, Assuta Ramat HaHayal, doctors of Beilinson and Meir hospitals, and workers of the Hadassah and Shearei Zedek hospitals. Worker Unions in Education, Culture and Public Service: The Teachers Union, the Senior Academic Staff Union of Shenkar College, Organization of senior faculty at Ort Braude College, Organization of senior faculty at Achva College, Organization of senior faculty at Western Galilee College, Union of heads and committees of academic faculty in public colleges, Ben Gurion University, Technion, Weizmann Institute, College of Management, The School of Arts, Habima Theater, Bet Lesin Theater, Israel Chamber Orchestra, Yediot Aharonot and Haaretz, Kakal Worker Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The State Comptroller Office, National Insurance jurists and Mishan.

Organizational Changes, Mergers, Acquisitions, Transitions and Privatizations

The firm has vast experience in accompanying organizational changes, mergers, sales, and privatizations. The firm’s operations include supporting the workers’ representatives in collective agreement negotiations with the owner or the management, to protect the workers’ rights, supply a “safety net” for the transition period, and receive an appropriate monetary bonus that would express the workers’ contribution throughout the years. The firm pioneered the practice of assembling integrated teams of attorneys, economists, lobbyists and media experts for handling workplace crises, from initial stages, before the declaration of a dispute, and up to the signing of a collective agreement. This initiative arose from the understanding that successful struggles require comprehensive professional planning, to achieve the best results.

Prominent privatizations and organizational changes that the firm handled

The First Privatizations in the Banking Industry: Union Bank, Discount, Leumi; counsel for TASE employees during the TASE Structural Change, counsel during the merger of Union Bank and Mizrahi Bank, as well as counsel for: Mishkan Bank in the merger with Poalim, Arab-Israeli Bank employees during the merger with Leumi, Discount Mortgages employees during the merger with Discount, Otzar HaHayal and Masad banks employees during the ownership transfer to IBIL, Otzar HaHayal’s bank employees during the merger into the IBIL, Co-Op employees during the sale to the Dudi Weisman-Bronfman Group, Tnuva employees during the struggle to receive sale bonuses, the Israeli Military Industries in the factory sales, Technical Units of Rafael’s employees during the process of transitioning the latter from a unit of Ministry of Defense to a governmental company.

Union-Management Relations

The firm handles ongoing working relationships between unions and management teams, in various sectors, and also advises committees on matters based on the Histadrut Constitution, the Unions Code, and the collective agreements that facilitate the position of the union in front of the management.

Personal Labor Law

The firm also handles private labor law and provides diverse services in advice and negotiations before signing personal work agreements, representations in hearing procedures, monetary lawsuits, and requests for temporary/permanent legal bodies. The firm has a particular specialization in responding to internal, external and State Comptroller audits. The firm has vast experience in collective and personal labor law.

Salary Breaches

This practice area focuses on the representation and support of workers’ unions in the civil service as well as workers and pensioners, in demands by the Salary Commissioner to cancel salary benefits and other payments that weren’t approved by the Commissioner.

National Insurance

Representation of workers before the National Insurance as well as before medical committees.

Workers and Senior Citizens’ Rights

Representation of workers and retired citizens receiving funded and unfunded pensions in legal proceedings, drafting wills and inheritances and LPAs.

Representation in the Knesset

The firm represents clients in various committees and monitors the committees’ agendas, the government decisions, and the bills, as well as locates labor-related topics, and reviews their potential implications on workers.

Litigation

The firm handles litigation in the field of collective and personal labor law.