Ministry of Economy and Industry | Directorate General of Labor

ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT 2021

In the agriculture sector, it was decided to advance the following steps: public explanatory activity about the use and advantages of translated pay slips; evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of the sector's transition to an employment model using human resources companies such as the one used in the construction sector and composing an appropriate document of recommendations; dealing with abuse of female foreign workers in the agriculture sector by publishing regulations for separate living quarters and creating a digital platform for transferring information to foreign workers. Furthermore, it was decided that the Institute for Immigration and Social Integration at the Ruppin Academic Center would lead three studies expected to begin in January 2022 on the following topics: sexual harassment among home caregiving workers, burnout among workers in the caregiving sector, and the need to unionize workers in the agriculture sector. Smaller work groups convened after the seminar to discuss, refine, and develop alternative solutions. Several months later, a booklet was sent to the seminar participants. For the booklets to have added value for the participants, as the seminar did, the contents included a summary of the introductory lecture, an in depth description of the subjects discussed at the round tables while emphasizing the different viewpoints, referring to the proposed alternatives, and while also mentioning the involved parties, necessary actions that need to be taken in light of the topics discussed, and the schedule for these actions.

Agricultural Bureaus Conference

Together with the Population and Immigration Authority, the Commissioner's Unit conducted a conference in February for the foreign workers' bureaus in the agriculture sector. The conference, held via Zoom, addressed the subject of rights, obligations, and conditions of employment in the agriculture sector. As part of the conference, two lectures were given – one by the Commissioner's Unit team explaining and detailing the labor rights of foreign workers in the agriculture sector; and the second by the Population and Immigration Authority on foreign workers' queries and their handling by the bureaus.

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