Palestinians enter work without a permit (Photo: Amir Bohbot)
As in the article, you and Muhammad al-Kaisi were killed last December by collapsing scaffolding at a construction site on Rakfat Street in Givat Ze'ev.
During the investigation it was learned that the workers at the site alerted the foreman that the scaffolding was not anchored and this was not addressed.
A new study by 'Ko LeOved', which was presented for the first time at the occupational health conference of the Institute for Safety and Health (Mosal), presents the indicators of occupational morbidity among Palestinian workers in Israel and the safety hazards that are unknown to those workers. About 120 thousand work permits in Israel are given to resident Palestinian
workers The West Bank, of which about 80,000 are workers in the construction industry who bring about 41 million shekels into the West Bank every day. The workers are forced to pay about 3,000 shekels a month in order to obtain the permit and at this time are in unprecedented safety risks.
Lack of familiarity with safety hazards
A study by the 'Worker's Line' association, which was presented for the first time at the health conference of the Institute for Safety and Health, examined the indicators of occupational morbidity and adherence to safety guidelines among Palestinian workers arriving in Israel.
The survey included 38 questions that were sent to 256 Palestinian construction workers in the months of May-June 2022. And the findings indicate the lawlessness of the Palestinian workers in the field.
63.9% of the survey respondents stated that they rarely follow safety rules to maintain their health and that they are not informed about the dangers involved in the work.
As a result, all respondents answered that their physical health was damaged directly or indirectly by working in Israel and testified to various occupational ailments: 75% of headaches, 50.8% of joint problems, 38.3% of knee pains, 36.3% of back problems, 35.5% of leg problems , 23.8% suffer from eye problems, 21.5% suffer from hand problems, 17.6% suffer from breathing problems, 10.5% other health damage, 14.8% suffer from chronic pain, 7.8% suffer from heart problems, 3.5% reported that they suffer from skin problems.
Cursing, humiliation and receiving wages
Along with the physical injuries, there are serious mental injuries to the Palestinian workers while working in Israel.
The survey shows that working inside Israel has a negative effect on the mood and mental health of the employees. 84.7% reported that they were anxious and worried after work, 81.8% were tired, 77.3% were nervous, 61.2% were stressed, 42.1% were worn out, only 0.8% said that they felt emotional satisfaction or economic.
One of the main reasons why they don't feel satisfied is due to the withholding of wages, according to the survey.
The Palestinian workers pay money for the work permit every working day of the month, regardless of whether they worked or not.
58.8% of Palestinian workers said that although they requested payment for sick days in the past year, they did not receive it, compared to 23.1% who did not request payment at all.
Only 17.6% asked for payment and received it.
"From our research it appears that all Palestinian workers in the construction industry reported damage to their health as a result of working in Israel," explains the director of the research and public policy department at Ko LeOved, attorney Diana Barron who responded to the research findings. "Employers of Palestinian workers must take care of their health and fulfill their obligations according to law , including training on risk factors, provision of proper protective equipment, and periodic environmental monitoring and medical examinations for employees.
When there is a suspicion of an occupational disease, those employers must report it immediately.
An employer who does not fulfill his obligations causes irreparable damage to the employees and should be prosecuted."
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Winkler.
Training is needed at the construction sites (photo: the Institute for Safety and Standards)
In 2022, Mosel instructors carried out 10,104 activities at construction sites in order to instruct on risks and to correct key and common deficiencies such as not using personal protective equipment during work, not fencing the construction site as required, unsafe work at height, unsafe access roads to the construction site, Lack of signage showing the officials at the entrance to the site, including the nature of the construction and more.
During the year, the Mosel instructs the Palestinian workers through Arabic-speaking safety instructors and the Mosel's training vehicles equipped with advanced learning technology with a variety of lessons on safety issues in the Arabic language that arrive at the construction sites.
The Israel Defense Forces works in collaboration with the UN's ilo delegation that comes once a year to check the employment conditions of the Palestinian workers employed in Israel.
The Director General of the Institute for Safety and Legal Affairs, Dr. Mickey Winkler: "All workers at the construction site, regardless of religion or race, should receive training regarding the risks and the ways to minimize them, be familiar with the safety emphasis and the instructions for safe and professional work before they begin the task. An employer who does not inform his employees about the risks , puts his employees, himself and the company at risk. We at Mosel are working with all the resources at our disposal to reach as many construction sites as possible to assist the managers at no cost, to instruct and guide them while diagnosing the risks in ways to minimize the risks.
We invite the developers and contractors to use the services of the Mosel for the sake of maintaining the health of the workers of the construction sites in Israel."
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