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Israel - Compensation & Benefit Legislation

CAPITAL

Jerusalem

 

CLIMATE

Temperate. Hot and dry in southern and eastern desert area.

 

LANGUAGES

Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language.

 

LEGAL SYSTEM

A mixture of English common law, British Mandate regulations, and, in personal matters, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim legal systems form Israel’s legal system. In December 1985, Israel informed the UN Secretariat that it would no longer accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

 

CURRENCY

Israeli Shekel (1 USD = 4.6650 ILS as of March 1, 2002)

 

ISRAEL - COST-OF-LIVING

ERI's Relocation Assessor is a recommended source for cost-of-living data.

 

ISRAEL - EMBASSY/CONSULATES

U. S. Embassy at Tel Aviv

71 Hayarkon Street

PSC 98 Box 100

APO AE 09830

Tel Aviv, Israel

Telephone: [972] (3) 5197575

Fax: [972] (3) 517-3227

http://www.usembassy-israel.org.il/

 

U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem

27 Nablus Road (Some maps called Schechem Street)

Jerusalem, Israel 94190

Telephone: [972] (2) 622-7200

Fax: [972] (2) 628-5455

http://www.uscongen-jerusalem.org

 

Embassy of Israel at Washington D.C.

3514 International Drive N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008

Telephone: (202) 364-5500

Fax: (202) 364-5423

http://www.israelemb.org/

 

ISRAEL - HOLIDAYS

 

ISRAEL - MINIMUM AGE

Children who have attained the age of 15 years, and who fall under the compulsory education law (which applies to all children except those who have completed grade 10), may not be employed unless they work as apprentices under the Apprenticeship Law. Children who are 14 years old may be employed during official school holidays. Employment of those 16 to 18 years of age is restricted to ensure time for rest and education; and the Government enforces these restrictions in practice.

 

(Section 6.d. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Israel – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

ISRAEL - MINIMUM REMUNERATION

During the year, the minimum wage was raised to 47.5 percent of the average wage. The minimum wage is calculated periodically and adjusted for cost of living increases. At year's end, the minimum wage was approximately $760 (3,266 NIS) per month. The minimum wage often is supplemented by special allowances and generally is sufficient to provide a worker and family with a decent standard of living.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Israel – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)

 

ISRAEL - REMUNERATION

ERI's Geographic and Salary Assessor are recommended sources for international remuneration covering 189 countries.

 

ISRAEL - REPORT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES (2001, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE)

Section 6 Worker Rights

 

a. The Right of Association

 

Citizen workers may join and establish labor organizations freely. Most unions belong to Histadrut (the General Federation of Labor in Israel), or to a much smaller rival federation, the Histadrut Haovdim Haleumit (National Federation of Labor). These organizations are independent of the Government. Histadrut members democratically elect national and local officers, and officials of its affiliated women's organization Na'amat, from political party lists of those already in the union. Plant or enterprise committee members are elected individually. Approximately 650,000 workers are members of Histadrut, and much of the non-Histadrut work force is covered by Histadrut's collective bargaining agreements.

 

The right to strike is exercised regularly. Unions must provide 15 days' notice prior to a strike unless otherwise specified in the collective bargaining agreement. However, unauthorized strikes occur. Strike leaders--even those organizing illegal strikes--are protected by law. If essential public services are affected, the Government may appeal to labor courts for

 

back-to-work orders while the parties continue negotiations. There were a number of strikes in both the public and private sectors during the year by employees protesting the effects of privatization. Worker dismissals and the terms of severance arrangements often were the central issues of dispute.

 

Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip who worked in Israel were not able to join Israeli trade unions or organize their own unions in Israel. Palestinian trade unions in the occupied territories are not permitted to conduct activities in Israel (see Section 6.a. of the annex). However, nonresident workers in the organized sector are entitled to the protection of Histadrut work contracts and grievance procedures. They may join, vote for, and be elected to shop-level workers' committees if their numbers in individual establishments exceed a minimum threshold. Palestinian participation in such committees is minimal.

 

Labor laws apply to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and to the Syrian Druze living on the Golan Heights.

 

Unions are free to affiliate with international organizations.

 

b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

 

Citizen workers fully exercise their legal rights to organize and bargain collectively. While there is no law specifically prohibiting antiunion discrimination, the law against discrimination could be cited to contest discrimination based on union membership. No antiunion discrimination has been reported.

 

Nonresident workers may not organize their own unions or engage in collective bargaining, but they are entitled to be represented by the bargaining agent and protected by collective bargaining agreements. They do not pay union dues, but are required to pay a 1 percent agency fee in lieu of dues, which entitles them to union protection by Histadrut's collective bargaining agreements. The Ministry of Labor may extend collective bargaining agreements to nonunionized workplaces in the same industrial sector. The Ministry of Labor also oversees personal contracts in the unorganized sectors of the economy.

 

There are no export processing zones.

 

c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

 

The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, specifically including forced and bonded labor by children, and neither citizens nor nonresident Palestinians working in Israel generally are subject to this practice; however, civil rights groups charge that unscrupulous employers often take advantage of illegal workers' lack of status to hold them in conditions amounting to involuntary servitude (see Section 6.e.).

 

Women are trafficked for the purpose of prostitution (see Section 6.f.)

 

d. Status of Child Labor Practices and Minimum Age for

 

Employment

 

Children who have attained the age of 15 years, and who fall under the compulsory education law (which applies to all children except those who have completed grade 10), may not be employed unless they work as apprentices under the Apprenticeship Law. Children who are 14 years old may be employed during official school holidays. Employment of those 16 to 18 years of age is restricted to ensure time for rest and education; and the Government enforces these restrictions in practice.

 

There are no reliable data regarding illegal child workers. The small number of child workers reportedly is concentrated among the country's Arab population and its most recent Jewish immigrants. Illegal employment is found primarily in urban, light-industrial areas.

 

Children's rights groups have called for more vigorous enforcement of child labor laws, combined with a parallel effort to deal with the causes of illegal child labor.

 

The Government specifically prohibits forced and bonded labor by children, and it generally does not occur (see Section 6.c.).

 

Activists estimate that there may be several hundred prostitutes among the nation's children (see Section 5).

 

e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

 

During the year, the minimum wage was raised to 47.5 percent of the average wage. The minimum wage is calculated periodically and adjusted for cost of living increases. At year's end, the minimum wage was approximately $760 (3,266 NIS) per month. The minimum wage often is supplemented by special allowances and generally is sufficient to provide a worker and family with a decent standard of living. Union officials have expressed concern over enforcement of minimum wage regulations, particularly with respect to employers of illegal nonresident workers, who sometimes pay less than the minimum wage.

 

By law the maximum hours of work at regular pay are 47 hours a week, 8 hours per day, and 7 hours on the day before the weekly rest, which must be at least 36 consecutive hours and include the Sabbath. By national collective agreements, the private sector established a maximum 45-hour workweek in 1988. The public sector moved to a 5-day, 42-plus hour workweek in 1989, while the military adopted it in 1993.

 

Employers must receive a government permit to hire nonresident workers from the occupied territories, certifying that no citizen is available for the job. All Palestinians from the occupied territories are employed on a daily basis and, unless they are employed on shift work, are not authorized to spend the night in Israel. Palestinians without valid work permits are subject to arrest. Due to security concerns, the Government stopped issuing almost all permits for Palestinian workers following the outbreak of violence in October 2000.

 

Nonresident workers are paid through the employment service of the Ministry of Labor, which disburses wages and benefits collected from employers. The Ministry deducts a 1 percent union fee and the workers' required contributions to the National Insurance Institute (NII), the agency that administers the Israeli social security system, unemployment benefits, and other benefits. Despite these deductions, Palestinian workers are not eligible for all NII benefits. They continue to be insured for injuries suffered while working in the country, maternity leave, as well as the bankruptcy of a worker's employer. However, they do not have access to unemployment insurance, general disability payments, or low-income supplements. Since 1993 the Government has agreed to transfer the NII fees collected from Palestinian workers to the Palestinian Authority, which is to assume responsibility for all the pensions and social benefits of Palestinians working in Israel. Mechanisms for providing these services in the PA controlled territories, as well as mechanisms for transferring the funds, have not been established. The funds currently are held in a trust.

 

Following the outbreak of violence in September 2000, the Government implemented a closure policy, which prevented thousands of Palestinians from getting to their places of employment in Israel.

 

Along with union representatives, the Labor Inspection Service enforces labor, health, and safety standards in the workplace, although resource constraints affect overall enforcement. Legislation protects the employment rights of safety delegates elected or appointed by the workers. In cooperation with management, these delegates are responsible for safety and health in the workplace.

 

Workers do not have the legal right to remove themselves from dangerous work situations without jeopardy to continued employment. However, collective bargaining agreements provide some workers with recourse through the work site labor committee. Any worker may challenge unsafe work practices through government oversight and legal agencies.

 

Public debate continued regarding the role in the workplace and society of (non-Palestinian) foreign workers, who are estimated to number at least 300,000 and about half of whom are undocumented and employed illegally. The majority of such workers come from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, and work in the construction and agricultural sectors. The law does not allow foreign workers the ability to obtain citizenship or permanent residence status, unless they happen to be Jewish, in which case they would qualify under the laws which allow for Jewish persons to immigrate. As a result, foreign workers, and their families, especially those who enter the country illegally, experience uncertainty in addressing legal and social problems, including exploitation or abuse in the workplace.

 

Illegal foreign workers facing deportation are brought before a special court established to deal with issues related to deportation, and workers may contest the deportations. Many workers lack fluency in Hebrew, and this is a hindrance in these courts. NGO's exist to aid workers facing deportations, and there have been cases in which the worker's status has been reinstated. The court also provides a forum where deportable workers can claim that they were not paid or given benefits according to the law. In some cases, the court has delayed deportation until all claims, including severance, have been paid. However, some NGO's suggest that illegal workers often live in situations amounting to involuntary servitude, due primarily to their tenuous legal status.

 

Human rights groups claim that since foreign worker residency permits are tied to specific employment, even legal foreign workers have little leverage to influence their work conditions.

 

f. Trafficking in Persons

 

The law prohibits trafficking in women for the purpose of prostitution; however, it is a continuing problem. During the year, the Government reported that it increasingly pursued legal action against traffickers.

 

The Government provides limited funding to NGO's for assistance to victims.

 

ISRAEL - SOCIAL SECURITY

Social Security Office of International Programs:

 

http://www.ssa.gov/SSA_Home.html

 

ISRAEL - STANDARD WORKWEEK

By law the maximum hours of work at regular pay are 47 hours a week, 8 hours per day, and 7 hours on the day before the weekly rest, which must be at least 36 consecutive hours and include the Sabbath. By national collective agreements, the private sector established a maximum 45-hour workweek in 1988. The public sector moved to a 5-day, 42-plus hour workweek in 1989, while the military adopted it in 1993.

 

(Section 6.e. Acceptable Conditions of Work, Israel – Report of Human Rights Practices, 2001, U.S. Department of State.)