The government has delayed the approval of the compromise reached between the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Finance - so already next week the quota of foreign workers will fall by 60% • "Real estate is going to rise in price"
Construction site in Netivot, July
Photography:
Dudu Greenspan
Drama in the real estate industry:
As of next Friday, January 1, 2021, a government decision will take effect that will lead to a dramatic reduction of close to 60% in the number of foreign workers licensed to work in the construction industry - according to a letter received by Israel Today.
This is a document from the Population and Immigration Authority sent to labor contractors for the employment of foreign workers in the construction industry, entitled "Notice of Principles for Reducing the Quota of Foreign Workers to Building Corporations."
The letter, signed by CPA Roi Amir, director of finance at the Population Authority, reads: Foreign workers to only 6,800 foreign workers. "
According to the letter, currently 13,255 foreign workers are employed in the construction industry by the corporations.
Upon the entry into force of the government decision, nearly half of them will be required to leave the country within 30 days of the expiration of their existing license - "otherwise they will be subject to arrest and removal and / or deductions from the deposit balances managed by the authority."
The Authority will give priority to foreign workers who stay in the country as little as possible: "For the purpose of making the said cut," the Population Authority explains, "the Population Authority intends to rank foreign construction workers according to their length of stay in Israel, so that only 6,800 foreign workers with the lowest length In Israel. "
According to the authority's representative, the only way to change the policy would be a government decision on the matter: "As long as there is no change in the outline in the government decision," it said, "guidelines and lists of employees to extend licenses as above will be passed to corporations in the near future." For the amended decision. "
According to Eldad Nitzan, chairman of the Association of Foreign Workers' Corporations in the Chamber of Commerce, "this is a scandalous and dreamy situation.
The employment of foreign workers in Israel is by virtue of bilateral agreements between Israel and their countries of origin.
The current agreements were set three years ago for a period of five years, so this decision is contrary to agreements with the states.
Moreover, how is a contractor supposed to point to some of his employees being sent back?
This is not at all applicable and it will be a disaster for the construction industry, which will inevitably also lead to a drastic decrease in the volume of construction starts and the increase in the price of apartments.
"Currently, only 12,500 foreign workers are employed in the country, with the compromise between the Ministry of Housing, which demanded 30,000 foreign workers, and the Ministry of Finance being 18,500 workers - a compromise that the government is unable to approve."
Yehuda wrote that the chairman of the Tel Aviv and Central District Contractors Association, the vice president of the Builders of the Country Contractors Association and the chairman of the Labor, Economics and Taxation Division of the association say that "the intention of the Immigration and Population Authority It confirms a disaster for the construction industry and the Israeli public, and especially for young couples who want to reach the longed-for dream of owning an apartment. "
"I point the finger at the opacity revealed by government officials, we are on the way to a fourth election and for more than a year and a half there has been no informed decision-making by the government even regarding solutions to the shortage of working hands in the industry."