By Trend

El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. has signed an agreement on a recovery plan with its cabin staff. In order to obtain any kind of aid from the Ministry of Finance, the airline must present signed collective agreements with its workforce, which is divided between four workers committees. The cabin staff are the first group to sign an agreement. It calls for the layoff of hundreds of people and cuts in employment conditions. El Al's cabin staff currently number about 1,400, Trend reports with reference to Globes.

The agreement will be valid for the period of the state guaranteed loan that El Al seeks.

Altogether, El Al employs about 6,300 people. Under the streamlining plan that it presented to the Ministry of Finance, it will achieve savings of 30%, through cuts in its workforce, its routes, and its aircraft fleet. According to the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) and the cabin staff's committee, the new agreement will save El Al $30 million annually.