To conclude the discussion of Committee of Labor and Welfare on the labor rights of migrant agricultural workers on February 20th, Kav LaOved’s Attorney Michal Tadjer noted:
“In our opinion, the resistance of farmers to the deposit fund for migrant agricultural workers is shameful. These are not new financial obligations but rather requirements that have been demanded of the farmers by law for years – they must pay their employees pension, severance and other social benefits just like any other employer in Israel. Yet they come and argue against the deposit fund intended to hold these benefits for workers. There is no additional debt being imposed.
In fact, these farmers have been benefiting off the circumstances faced by these migrant workers. By virtue of the fact that migrant agricultural workers leave the country shortly after their work period ends, they are often unable to sue their employers for what they are owed, meaning the farmers are able to get away with never paying their employees the full amount they deserve according to the law. “
Read Ilan Lior’s full Haaretz article in Hebrew, “The Vote on Increasing the Sums of Money Farmers Can Collect from Migrant Workers has been Postponed”
