News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) According to a report by Sever Plocker of Yediot Acharonot, the government has been quietly creating a plan that aims to end Israel’s dependence on foreign labor.  Approximately 95,000 foreign workers and 10,000 Palestinian Authority Arabs have permits allowing them to work for Israel employers, and officials estimate that a similar number work illegally.  Approximately 25 percent of those in the construction industry, 40 percent of those in agriculture, and over 50 percent of those in nursing are foreign laborers.

The high number of foreign workers leads to the exploitation of foreigners and to the loss of job opportunities for uneducated Israelis, according to various ministries.  According to Plocker, the government hopes to eliminate the reliance on foreign workers by 2014 by strictly enforcing rules geared to avoid exploitation of foreign workers.  Among other things, the government plans to force employers to pay wages directly to a bank account and to pay workers a minimum wage.