In the past year 69 workers were killed in work accidents in Israel. People went to work in the morning – and did not return. Of these, 37 fatalities in the construction industry alone (54% of all fatalities). These numbers are similar to those of 2023, despite the decrease in economic activity due to the war. |
|
|
|
A new report by Kav LaOved reveals a grim picture: many work sites continue to operate without proper supervision, sufficient enforcement, or a genuine commitment to worker safety.
The message is clear: without systemic
change accidents will continue to happen.
Our professional recommendation, presented to elected leaders and government offices, and published in a report widely covered in the media: the urgent establishment of a National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health, and the adoption of a national plan to combat this occupational safety crisis. Workers continue to pay with their lives for this climate of neglect.
|
| |
| A new report by Kav LaOved reveals a grim picture: many work sites continue to operate without proper supervision, sufficient enforcement, or a genuine commitment to worker safety.
The message is clear: without systemic
change accidents will continue to happen. Our professional recommendation, presented to elected leaders and government offices, and published in a report widely covered in the media: the urgent establishment of a National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health, and the adoption of a national plan to combat this occupational safety crisis. Workers continue to pay with their lives for this climate of neglect. |
|
|
|
| To raise awareness about safety at construction sites we participated in an initiative of Bezalel Academy of Art students in collaboration with Zemach Hammerman Ltd and other organizations.
The photo exhibition produced by the students sheds light on construction workers – one of the most invisible populations in the Israeli labor market.
Exceptional photographs remind visitors that the workers paving our roads and constructing our homes are not just laborers but, first and foremost, human beings. |
|
|
|
They must receive protection and safe working conditions.We hope the exhibition will help see construction workers as individuals rather than a dehumanized group, promote respect of workers' lives in all workplaces, and contribute to needed systemic change necessary to prevent the next fatality.
A big thank you to the construction workers who participated in the initiative and to the students who led the project.
|
|
|
|
| In the past four weeks, we have finally experienced some moments of happiness. More than a year after the first deal was halted, a new deal was implemented bringing 18 hostages back to Israel, including five agricultural migrant workers released after 482 days in Hamas captivity - Thaenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat, and Lumnao Surasak. This is a moment of immense joy for their families, communities, and everyone who fought for their freedom. |
|
In the past four weeks, we have finally experienced some moments of happiness. More than a year after the first deal was halted, a new deal was implemented bringing 18 hostages back to Israel, including five agricultural migrant workers released after 482 days in Hamas captivity - Thaenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakham, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat, and Lumnao Surasak. This is a moment of immense joy for their families, communities, and everyone who fought for their freedom. |
| |
|
|
Migrant workers who worked in the Gaza envelope area paid a heavy price on October 2023 – dozens were murdered, injured, and kidnapped in the Hamas attack, despite not being part of the conflict. We are confident that upon their return the government will take care of the five released hostages and their families.
Alongside the relief, our hearts are with all those who have not returned yet. We will continue to demand the immediate release of all Israelis and migrant workers still in captivity and stand by their families. |
|
|
|
| In January, together with the Association for Civil Rights and the Labor Rights Clinic at Tel Aviv University, we filed two petitions to the High Court of Justice against the decisions of the Directors' Committee on foreign workers. The decisions taken by the committee allows the unsupervised recruitment of migrant workers to Israel, without sufficient regulation and without essential protections for the workers. The committee opened the door for the arrival of thousands of poor migrants into an economy that is not prepared to absorb them, when they are under heavy debts. |
|
In January, together with the Association for Civil Rights and the Labor Rights Clinic at Tel Aviv University, we filed two petitions to the High Court of Justice against the decisions of the Directors' Committee on foreign workers. The decisions taken by the committee allows the unsupervised recruitment of migrant workers to Israel, without sufficient regulation and without essential protections for the workers. The committee opened the door for the arrival of thousands of poor migrants into an economy that is not prepared to absorb them, when they are under heavy debts. |
| |
|
|
In one of its decisions, the committee permits the free recruitment of workers for the agriculture sector – outside the court-mandated regulation that protects them. In another decision, it creates a new sector for labor migration including five completely different fields that have never employed migrant workers before, without a proper infrastructure to prevent harm to their rights.
Unsupervised recruitment leads to the collection of illegal brokerage fees from migrant workers. These payments, in large sums, enslave workers to debts and prepare the ground for their exploitation and even human trafficking and employment in conditions of slavery.
We will continue to update on developments and to promote workers' rights and human rights in Israel. |
|
|
|
At Kav LaOved we operate various Facebook pages in different languages to try and reach every worker in the most convenient and accessible way possible. One of our posts not only helped and provided such information but saved a life and changed reality.
After ten years working in Israel a Sri Lankan caregiver decided to return to her family after being diagnosed with advanced-stage lung cancer, finding herself completely alone against the system. |
| |
|
|
Without information about her entitlement to compensation or medical evacuation rights she planned to fly back to Sri Lanka alone – without the money she was entitled to and without support. By chance, around that time we published a post for caregivers about sick leave and medical rights. The post reached her sister, also working in Israel, who decided to check what could be done. This inquiry turned into a chain of rapid and determined actions by a Kav LaOved staff member and a dedicated volunteer who ensured that the caregiver collects her social rights money from her deposit account, gets compensation of 90,000 shekels for loss of work capacity from the insurance company, and is offered medical evacuation with an escort at the insurance company's expense. |
|
|
|
|
It wasn't simple. There were hurdles along the way, such as the inability to find her accessible and temporary housing in Israel before the flight, but in the end she managed to return to Sri Lanka, to her family, equipped with the money she was entitled to and with proper support.
The insurance policy clause regarding compensation for loss of work capacity exists only thanks to our work in cooperation with other organizations, and in this and similar cases we handled it provides a certain degree of welfare for workers suffering from serious illnesses.
|
|
|
|
This story emphasizes the importance of Kav LaOved assisting migrant workers, the power of accessible information, and the possibility of linking story after story to policy change. It also highlights the inadequate assistance offered to a migrant worker who was invited here and took care of the elderly for many years. Surely, the worker's rights should not have been dependent on a Kav LaOved post, but rather accessible to her, her employers, social workers in private offices, insurance agents, and others. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
