The Marker, Hadar Horesh, 01.01.2021
The threat of partial shutdown of the building and infrastructure industry was removed at the last minute, after the government decided to extend the validity of visas for thousands of foreign workers in the industry .
About 6,500 foreign workers were due to leave Israel when their work visas expired on Thursday. Over the past month, the Ministry of Housing and Construction has tried to pass a resolution in the government to prevent the deportation of workers and even increase import quotas, in light of the already large labor shortage in the industry. The contractors warned that the deportation would cause serious work disruptions, delays in the delivery of apartments and large projects in the field of infrastructure, and the unemployment of tens of thousands of Israeli workers. However, the proposal was not brought up for discussion, in view of the demand of the Minister of Agriculture to attach to the proposed decision a permit to increase the number of foreign workers in this industry by about 4,000.
The allowable quota of foreign workers is 16,500, but due to the corona crisis and the difficulty in importing more workers, the actual situation of foreign workers is about 14,500. Were it not for the government's decision this week, the maximum quota of workers would have been reduced to 8,000, as part of the plan to reduce the number of foreign workers and encourage the employment of local and Palestinian workers. The decision extends the quota to 16,500 until the end of the year, and stipulates that the quota will be reduced gradually.
Workers at a construction site in Modi'in, last year Photo: Gil Cohen Magen
It should be noted that in recent years the government has tried to encourage the integration of Israeli workers in the construction industry, but the programs have failed due to a minority of those interested in training offers in the industry and a halt in the budget for vocational training programs.
Following the decision, the Ministry of Housing stated: "Maintaining a quota of foreign workers for wet jobs will increase the sources of livelihood for dozens of complementary occupations in the industry, and will lead to economic growth. According to CBS data, increasing wet workers , Architects, electricians, glaziers, elevator installers, plumbing workers, air conditioning workers, etc. In the years when there has been an increase in the number of Palestinian and foreign workers, there has been an increase in the number of Israeli workers. "
The president of the Builders' Association of Builders, Raoul Srugo, said: "I thank the Minister of Housing and the staff of his office who managed to pass a decision to leave the quota of foreign workers in the industry for a year. "I am ashamed of the careless conduct of the Israeli government and it is good that it is finishing its way."