Zim says operations are back to normal

   The Israeli shipping line Zim says that its “marine operations, head office, agencies and customer service teams are all back to routine” after being disrupted by protests.
   “Further to recent reports regarding service disruptions in Zim offices in Israel due to labor dispute, Zim is glad to inform that the management and employees representatives have agreed to return to negotiations and avoid any steps that might impair the company’s ongoing business activities,” the company said in a statement.
   The Israeli news website Arutz Sheva reported that the Zim offices in Haifa had been shuttered since Sunday due to an employees’ strike.
   “According to an agreement reached between management and the striking workers, and which was mediated by the Histadrut labor federation, talks between the sides will resume, and the employees will not take further strike measures while talks are ongoing,” it reported.
   Yesterday, in a roundup of container shipping new reports, Richard Ward of Freight Investor Services cited a report that union members on the ship Zim Iberia were refusing to sail the ships. Workers are concerned about the restructuring of the company and the possible adjustment of a “golden share” that the government of Israel has in the shipping company.