Israel: Migrant workers must repay money used during coronavirus pandemic next year

Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office has changed a draft law demanding migrant workers repay money withdrawn from state-run deposit accounts during the pandemic from January 2021.

The deposit accounts, which are inaccessible to workers, receive 20 per cent of the worker’s monthly salary directly from their employer and are topped up by a further 16 per cent of the salary, as a quasi-pension plan, similar to the amount contributed by employers for Israeli workers.

Access to the accounts only becomes available when they leave the country. The scheme is intended to act as an incentive for workers to return home by reducing their economic stability.

A draft proposal was released two weeks ago which would allow workers to withdraw up to 2,700 shekels (approximately $752) per month from the deposit accounts to help during the pandemic-related lockdown but did not include a repayment clause.

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The intention behind the revision was “not to harm the asylum seekers’ motivation to leave Israel”, according to a source quoted by Haaretz.

“The logic is that if there isn’t much money left in the fund, we cannot encourage them to leave.”

Pressure to amend the draft proposal is thought to have come from several right-wing politicians, including former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who is known for being close to pro-deportation activists.

During a meeting of the Knesset coronavirus committee Shaked encouraged preventing migrant workers from accessing deposits, instead requiring them to find jobs in agriculture or nursing for the duration of the pandemic.

Coronavirus spreading in the Middle East – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

While, as early as 30 March, Knesset and Likud party member May Golan encouraged the government to not alter deposit laws “which are a critical incentive for [migrants] to leave”, despite economic pressures caused by coronavirus.

The draft legislation, however, has since been stalled and it is unclear when lawmakers will vote on the bill, leaving migrant workers who have no financial safety net vulnerable.

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One Haaretz source lamented that “even in the hardest time – when the community is unemployed and has no source of income, there are some people who want to make it even more difficult for them, while the humanitarian option is the exact opposite”.

While Tali Ehrenthal, CEO of local charity ASSAF Aid Organisation for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel told Times of Israel, “unlike… Israeli citizens, they have no unemployment benefits, social security or communal support system to rely on… they’re left with nothing”.

Israel plays host to some 36,000 asylum seekers and refugees, with the new plan – if passed – set to affect only 17,000 of them. The remainder, who have no deposits, or only small sums, are expected to be left to fend for themselves.