Ministry of Economy and Industry | Directorate General of Labor

ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT 2021

Commissioner's Remarks 2021 was characterized by unusual situations that became an integral part of daily reality. This was a particularly challenging year – alongside their hard and sometimes complex work, far from their homes and families, the foreign workers also contended with the various influences of the Covid pandemic and even, with the latest round of violence in Gaza in May 2021. The difficulty of these workers in Israeli reality is unique both in terms of the social and cultural distance and isolation they experience and, because for most of them, the threat of rockets and alerts is a new and profoundly unsettling difficulty. Consequently, the Unit's activity focused on three central goals during the past year: (1) to constitute an address for foreignworkers in recognizing and exercising their labor rights; (2) to identify existing disparities andneeds inexercisingandadvancingworkers' rights; (3) tocreatecollaborationswithrelevant stakeholders. The past year was characterized by a marked increase in the number of queries submitted to the Unit: 1,750 queries from workers and employers and an additional 240 that were related to Covid issues. The marked rise in the number of foreignworkers contacting theUnit is evidence of the significant exposure it has gained. The Unit also conducted numerous explanatory and public relations activities during the year. This activity culminated in a conference held in a roundtable format. This conference, conducted in conjunction with the Institute of Immigration and Social Integration of the Ruppin Academic Center, assembled people from all fields related to foreign workers in the caregiving and agriculture sectors with the aim of discussing their problems anddifficulties. The conference led to collaborations that continuedduring2022 including, among others, studies on sexual harassment among women workers in caregiving and agriculture, and formulation of a guide that stipulates principles pertaining to female foreign workers and the terms of their employment. Educational and explanatory activities also included several lectures and the publication of brochures and booklets to workers and employers. Furthermore, the Unit continued extensive activity on its Facebook page, publishing numerous posts on various subjects identified as problematic or that raised questions among foreign workers. The Unit also held a "live" Facebook broadcast where foreign workers could directly refer questions to the Unit's team about terms of employment. As part of the efforts to identify needs and disparities relating to the terms of foreign workers' employment, the Unit conducted visits of their workplaces and accommodation. During these visits, the Unit team talked with the foreign workers to hear about their difficulties and, where possible, to provide them with a suitable response and solution. Oneof themainproblems identifiedby theUnit during2021 is the foreignworkers' difficulty inunderstanding their rights due to language issues. To contend with this difficulty, the Unit is promoting efforts to translate the foreign workers' pay slips and takes care to translate all its relevant explanatory material into different languages. Another significant change during 2021 was the re-establishment of the Foreign Workers Knesset Committee. This committee constitutes an important forum for raising disparities and difficulties faced by foreign workers. The committee convened government entities together with NGOs and other parties

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