In the December 2014, Kav LaOved released a new report entitled: “Arabs in the Labor Market: Workers without Rights!” The report will be released in English in March 2015. The report details the struggles that Arab citizens of Israel find in the labor market. Additionally, it is one of the only reports on the issue as the Arab labor market in Israel is not a commonly researched topic.
The report begins by examining the many reasons for low participation in the labor market, the under-representation in public service and academia, and the gross disparity between Arab and Jewish Israeli salaries. Second, it describes in detail the violations of labor rights, under Israeli law, that Arab citizens of Israel face on a daily basis and how this exasperates the economic disparity between the two populations. Third, it details religious and cultural rights violations Arab workers face in the workplace, including the workers’ right to a day of weekly rest or to holidays according to their own religion, and their right to speak Arabic in the workplace.
In the final chapter, there are recommendations to various relevant entities, from state authorities to civil society organizations, with a view towards improving the terms of employment of Arab workers. Kav LaOved believes that implementing these recommendations will improve the workers’ situation and contribute to transforming the reality described in the report, whereby the violation of rights of Arab workers, who are Israeli citizens, is an experience shared by nearly all members of this vulnerable community.
