Arab Workers Union Demands Israel to Disburse 515 Million Shekels Owed to Palestinian Workers

SadaNews - The Arab Workers Union in Nazareth has demanded the Israeli Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to disburse the sick leave dues for thousands of Palestinian workers who worked inside Israel before the start of the war on Gaza, amounting to approximately 515 million shekels.

The union explained in its message that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, through the department for foreign workers, had been deducting 2.5% from the wages of Palestinian workers until the end of 2019 as allocations for sick leave.

According to the data, only 11 million shekels had been disbursed as sick leave for the workers by the end of 2019, while the remaining balance in the ministry's fund has remained undistributed until October 7, 2023.

The legal advisor to the union, Wahba Badarne, pointed out that the Ministry of Finance transferred part of these dues, amounting to 218 million shekels, to compensate employers for war losses, while the majority of the balance remained in the Interior Ministry's fund as dues for the Palestinian workers.

Badarne added that the Israeli government and the Ministry of Finance plan to distribute this money to various ministries and institutions, including the Farmers' Union, the Agricultural Union, the Israeli Histadrut and the National Histadrut Organization, without regard to the rights of Palestinian workers, describing it as an attempt to "slice the pie" among the Israeli entities.

Badarne confirmed that the Arab Workers Union will take urgent legal action if they do not receive a response from the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Finance regarding the disbursement of this money to the Palestinian workers, which is a rightful claim for their regular and legal years of work with Israeli employers.

It is worth noting that about 75% of Palestinian workers in Israel, as of October 7, 2023, worked in the construction sector, 15% in agriculture, 6% in industry, and 3% in the service sector, with a small percentage working in tourism.

Source: Arabs 48