Histadrut leader Ofer Eini
The Histadrut labor federation’s executive voted yesterday to accept migrant workers into the group as full members, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz has reported.
The decision will require the organization to amend its bylaws, which currently permit membership only to Israeli citizens and permanent or temporary residents.
The newspaper reports that this change in union rules has been pushed through by the Chair of Histadrut, Ofer Eini, despite some opposition from members of the national union executive.
Read the press release here and the proposed resolution here.
Histadrut will push unions in new industries with high percentage of foreign workers
The new policy will enable the Histadrut to unionize industries and companies that employ a high percentage of foreign workers, such as construction, agriculture and food service.
Additionally, migrant workers will now be able to join existing unions, enabling these unions to represent them in disputes with employers, ensure that their rights are not violated and negotiate better wages and benefits for them.
Asian migrant workers in agriculture treated harshly
Until now, the Histadrut has granted only limited service to migrant workers - for instance, advice on how to handle problems with Israeli employers - and only in the greater Tel Aviv area. Thus the migrants relied mainly on nonprofit organizations such as the Kav La’oved workers’ hotline for assistance.
The Kav La’oved workers’ hotline organisation released a report last month outlining the widespread expoloitation of agricultural migrant workers in Israel. These workers were mostly from Thailand, but also from Nepal, Sri Lankan and the Palestinian Territories.
Media highlights exploitation
The shocking treatment of these workers, many of whom were unaware of their basic rights, has been spotlighted by Israeli and foreign media following the report by Kav La’oved which painted a grim picture of widespread exploitation .
Kav La’Oved, in association with the British union UNISON, recently released a video about the treatment of agricultural workers in Israel called Bitter Dates
Histadrut chair pushes change in union rules to protect migrant workers
Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini is quoted by The Israel National News website as saying he saw “no reason to prevent a foreign worker from being accepted as a Histadrut member, like any other member.”
According to Ha’aretz the driving force behind yesterday’s decision was Histadrut chairman Ofer Eini, whom associates said was shocked to discover that the organization’s bylaws did not permit it to unionize migrants.
Histadrut criticized overseas for failure to represent migrant workers
They also noted that for years, the Histadrut has been criticized by both its European counterparts and international human rights groups over its failure to represent migrant workers - considered the most maltreated employees in Israel - even though international conventions required it to do so.
Some 250,000 migrants work legally in Israel, and another 150,000 are thought to work here illegally. Since every worker who joins the Histadrut pays dues equivalent to 0.9 percent of his salary, the change could potentially put millions of shekels into the organization’s coffers. But Histadrut officials insisted that the motive was not money, but a desire to protect these workers’ rights.
Unionized migrant workers will get new legal rights
If the Histadrut does approve the change, foreign workers who join the organization will be eligible for all the legal benefits membership provides, including the right to organize local workers’ committees, and the right to engage in work actions and strikes.
In addition, the organization voted to push the government to limit the number of foreign workers allowed to enter the country, in order to ensure more jobs for Israeli workers.
Some Histadrut factions oppose move to organize migrant workers
Two factions in the Histadrut’s executive opposed yesterday’s decision - Shas and Oz, a faction founded by Likud MK Haim Katz. They argued that the decision would encourage migrant workers to stay in Israel.
It also puts Eini on a collision course with many members of the government, and particularly Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, who wants to reduce the number of migrant workers: The decision explicitly opposed deporting migrant workers with children, whereas many ministers argue that the existence of offspring is not grounds for allowing illegal migrants to stay.