The Israel cabinet on Sunday, 19 Shevat, approved a recommendation of the Finance Minister. Foreign workers will also be employed in infrastructure projects; A quota of 6,000 additional workers was approved for the foreign construction companies

The Cabinet approved Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon’s proposal to remove the restriction on foreign workers working in infrastructure. In addition, the ministers approved a special quota of 6,000 workers for the foreign construction companies that have already begun building projects in Israel.

The exclusion of foreign workers to date from the infrastructure sector has been done in two aspects: one, the reduction of the work permit, and the work in the residential area only (for Palestinian workers, the permit for residential and residential support infrastructures has been reduced); Second, the Accountant General’s decision that government tenders and other public bodies in the infrastructure sector cannot choose a supplier that employs foreign workers in their execution.

After a reexamination, it was found that infrastructure in general constitutes one of the main barriers to the development of residential neighborhoods, even when they are detached from residential areas, and in most cases, constitute a condition for the approval and promotion of a residential building plan.

In light of the great importance of accelerating the development of infrastructure in Israel, including the infrastructure supporting housing, the Minister of Finance decided to submit to the government a draft resolution according to which foreign workers could be employed in the field of infrastructure.

Therefore, permits to employ foreign workers and work permits granted to these workers will no longer be restricted to residential construction. For Palestinian workers, for residential construction and residential support infrastructure.

The government’s decision also expands the quota for foreign workers, so that a separate quota of 6,000 foreign workers will be established, and the current quota will be allocated to foreign workers through manpower corporations only.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)