On August 10, 2022, we appealed to the Knesset Finance Committee, along with organizations from the Workers' Rights Forum, regarding employee compensation, particularly for those compelled to miss work during Operation Breaking Dawn and the preceding days. We requested that they conduct an in-depth examination of the proposed regulation for compensating employees and that necessary changes be introduced to uphold the rights of all workers harmed amid the state of emergency.
In the appeal, attorneys Osnat Ziv of Itach-Ma'aki Women Lawyers for Social Justice, Aelad Cahana of Kav LaOved, and Debbie Gild-Hayo of ACRI, noted that regulations for compensating employees following the declaration of a state of emergency have been in place for years and are still offered. They are problematic in that they do not compensate workers in real time for their losses, and primarily neglect the most vulnerable workers – those who are employed part-time, work in temporary positions, etc.
The letter offers proposals for suitable and fair compensation for employees, including:
Payment of compensation, regardless of vacation days or the period of employment
Compensation even within a range of over 40 kilometers, in places where educational frameworks were closed
Ensure payment of small business and household employees, who lack a payslip in accordance with social security records or an employer statement
Establish an inspection and oversight mechanism to ensure that employers who have required employees to work throughout the state of emergency be warned and penalized
Work in essential services or work toward the provision of essential services: in addition to the aforementioned compensation, we call for the committee to ensure that workers recruited to work in essential services receive further compensation beyond their base salary, for “added risk”