A ministerial committee on Sunday 20 Sivan approved a bill that would provide Israelis with six long weekends annually, a weekend that includes both Shabbos and Sunday.

The man behind the bill is MK (Kulanu) Eli Cohen, who explains on the average workers in OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) nations have a 35-40 hour workweek while in Israel it is still 43 hours, the highest among OECD nations. He adds that Europeans begin with 20 days of vacation annually while in Israel there are only 12. He adds that there are only nine holidays in Israel as compared to more in other countries. Those days are Rosh Hashanah (2), Yom Kippur (1), Sukkos (2), Pesach (2) Shavuos (1) and Independence Day (1).

Cohen is quick to point out that while Israelis work a longer work week, productively in Europe surpasses productivity in Israel so clearly it is not about work hours alone.

Cohen adds the Histadrut Labor Federation wants to bring the work week down to 40 hours so his initiative is more moderate in the hope of creating a better balance of work and family time for Israelis. He explains children will have the same number of school days. Pesach or Chanukah vacation will be shortened to accommodate these additional six days.

However, some experts explain it is not as simple as Cohen wishes us to believe. They explain someone has to pay for the additional six days of vacation and ultimately, it will result in workers paying one way or another as they will increase prices deduct it from salaries.

Cohen does not agree, reminding us that in the past Israelis worked a 46-hour week and when they cut a formula was worked out that did not result in cutting salaries. He stresses Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon is on board and it is being worked out. He did not detail but stressed Israelis are working too many hours. He is confident manufacturers will not increase prices because the increase in tourism and shopping days will compensate for the six fewer days of work annually.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)