agricultural workers

The soaring unemployment rates require immediate implementation of the government's plan to cut down on the number of migrant workers in the construction industry and in agriculture

Position paper submitted to the Knesset Committee on Foreign Workers

According to data published at the end of May by the Central Bureau of Statistics, a dramatic rise in unemployment rates has occurred, calling for a revision of the government's policy on migrant workers. In the first quarter of 2009, more than 7000 construction workers and 2000 laborers in agriculture have lost their job (all Israelis), while the number of migrant workers in 2008 was on the rise.

In a series of government decisions in the last few years, it has repeatedly confirmed the need to cut down on the number of migrant workers in Israel. The Eckstein report of 2007 set clear quantitative goals, as follows:

1.An all-out cessation of the importation of migrant workers by 2010.
2.Reducing the number of foreign laborers in agriculture to 5000 by 2013.

In reality, the number of migrant laborers in construction and in agriculture is on the rise, despite the government's decision to grant less permits for the importation of laborers. In addition, a report published recently by the research institute of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour, reveals that the number of foreign caretakers rose by 19% from 45,800 in 2007 to 54,500 in 2008.

According to the report, "The integration of migrant workers in the Israeli labour market has narrowed down the availability of workplaces to Israeli employees with low education. Even though unemployment rates among this population were on the decline in the prosperous years of 2003 to 2008, had it not been for the migrant workers, unemployment rates among workers with low education would have been considerably smaller. In light of the current financial crisis, this was caused by the lax policy on limiting work permits for migrant workers, low enforcement on employers, and slowdown of deportation of illegal laborers".

In the last decade, WAC has been active in recruitment of Arab workers to jobs in construction and agriculture. Thousands of laborers have been placed in law-abiding workplaces in the framework of this project, including hundreds of Arab women who started working in agriculture.

Today, however, the chances of expanding WAC's recruitment project, which could provide an employment solution to thousands of Arab job seekers and others in Israel's peripheries, are close to zero. Despite unanimous agreement among economists and the social lobby, pressure by the influential farmer's and manpower companies' lobby, prevail, thus preventing the implementation of the government's own decisions. We have witnessed in the last year the fiasco of a government pilot program for the promotion of employment for Israeli jobseekers (i.e. Arab women) in agriculture, which withered after three years of barren discussions.

The financial crisis brings about decreased business activity and more layoffs in both the construction industry and in agriculture. In the current situation employers prefer to lay off local workers while keeping cheap labour force, namely migrant workers. It is high time to put the workers' needs at the top of the country's priorities, discontinue the importation of migrant workers, and the capitulation to interest groups. Without doing so there would be no real chances for fighting poverty and unemployment.

For further information contact Erez Wagner, WAC coordinator in Jerusalem:
Tel: 054-6343961
e-mail: