After a decade of trying: The kibbutz's pensioners' rights struggle fails

Pensioners from the kibbutz movement decided to withdraw their petition for a change of wording, in light of the High Court's recommendation. Since the privatization began, pension has become one of the subjects of collective bargaining. The battle for their rights has been going on for close to a decade, but the judges stated that "certainly not through court."

After a decade of trying: The kibbutz's pensioners' rights struggle fails

At the end of a decade of struggles, the kibbutz movement's pensioners' attempt to improve their financial situation ended with the kibbutz's pensions. The fight, which was held on various levels, came a year ago before the Supreme Court, when a pension head representing the pensioners asked the court to order the Minister of Economy and the Registrar of Cooperative Societies to instruct the kibbutzim to change the formula according to which they are given a pension.

Yesterday (Thursday), the High Court recommended the petitioners withdraw the petition also against the kibbutz movement and against 105 kibbutzim. The kibbutz movements were represented by lawyers David Weinstein and Dr. Guy Karmi of the Lipa Meir office and lawyers Micha Drori and Marav Niv of the kibbutz legal department. The petitioners were represented by Adv. Gilad Sher.

According to the regulations of the cooperative societies, whereby the kibbutzim are obliged to act, the "pensionable amount" per kibbutz member is 40% of the average wage in the economy. Therefore, the minimum pension that the kibbutz has to pay a member is NIS 4,056 a month.

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The issue of pensions has become one of the most debated and debilitating issues in collective discourse. Kibbutz Nirim (Photo: Liron Moldovan)

Kibbutz Nirim (Photo: Liron Moldovan)

There are financially stronger kibbutzim that pay more than what is required, but there are also economically weak kibbutzim that pay lower pensions than the prescribed base pension. The Kibbutz Movement recommends that the pension be one quarter higher than the basic pension and will amount to NIS 5070.

Since the kibbutz privatization process began, the issue of pensions has become one of the most debated and debilitating issues in kibbutz discourse. Some retirees say that even if they do not live in poverty, their retirement benefits do not allow them to live with dignity and create unbearable gaps.

Their main argument is in light of what seems to them to be an injustice in the distribution of the pie in the kibbutz and ignoring their seniority in the pension distribution formula.

The committee also discussed this in the subcommittee of the Work and Welfare Pension Committee on the renewed kibbutz, led by MK Ilan Gilon (Meretz). The committee's recommendations were to change the pension formula in the kibbutz, taking into account the seniority of the member and the average salary in the kibbutz, rather than the arbitrary index (the average wage in the economy). ), Which is not related to the rights of the kibbutz member.

Take into account the seniority of the member and the average salary at the kibbutz. MK Ilan Gilon (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Ilan Gilon Primaries in March, Tel Aviv, July 11, 2019 (Photo: Reuven Castro)

In addition, they feel that when they move to a method of distributing differential salaries in the kibbutz, they do not enjoy the fruits of the system and do not receive a more proper pension to take into account the assets accumulated by the kibbutz when they constituted the work circle.

Unlike other retirees in Israel, they mention that they were not employees, but the property owners. However, the Gilon Commission's recommendation was not accepted and the pensioners reached the High Court. The petition also presented cases in which members of a Kibbutz pension receive NIS 2,000.

"This cannot be done, certainly not through the court"

High Court judges found it difficult to accept the pensioners' arguments.

He noted that "on the legal level, the arguments are floating in the air and none of them have legs in the ground." He added: "Where it used to be in the morning, lunch and dinner for the kibbutz warehouse to receive clothing, it now receives a 40% allowance and it is a replacement for clothing meals, etc. Some of the services continue to be provided. This is the arrangement in the renewable kibbutz. No, the question of whether a higher level can be set is not legal. "

At the end of the hearing, the petitioners accepted the court's recommendation and withdrew the petition.

Attorney Carmi representing the kibbutz movement said that he was "glad that the Supreme Court adopted our position that the petition should be rejected. We identify with the pensioners' desire for renewable kibbutzim to increase the pensions they receive, but this cannot be done overwhelmingly, certainly not through court intervention. "

Advocate Sher told the judiciary yesterday that "petitioners are over 80 and they sought to exhaust the legal side because all other attempts have failed. They will try to turn to other ways but they leave with a harsh sense of abandonment by the state. "