Move to be implemented in four stages (archives)
Photo: EPA
2,500 construction workers head to Israel
According to bilateral agreements signed with Romania and Bulgaria, some 6,800 new workers expected to arrive in country by mid 2014
The Population and Immigration Authority has signed two new bilateral agreements with Romania and Bulgaria, which will see the arrival of foreign construction workers in Israel.
The agreements will affect employment agencies, which will no longer be able to charge commission fees. The agencies have been fighting the move in the past few months, claiming that as part of a pilot which saw the arrival of agricultural workers from Sri Lanka, the workers were charged a higher commission fee that permitted according to the agreement.
According to the agreements, 2,500 workers are expected to arrive by the end of the year, and 6,800 will have arrived by mid 2014 in order to meet the quota of 8,000 workers.
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Several complaints have been filed with the Labor Court, but the Population and Immigration Authority says it has not seen any official document on the matter.
"The countries of origin will provide a pool of professional and skilled workers in accordance with the criteria," said a source in the Population Authority.
"We decided that the workers will be brought without the involvement of private elements, in order to limit their involvement. Why? Because the private elements are interested in charging commission fees."
According to the agreement, Israel will increase the foreign workers quota in the construction industry to 8,000. The move will be implemented in four stages, with the first 2,500 workers arriving in the coming month.
