Uriel Lin, president of the Association of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, appealed to Defense Minister Yoav Galant to expedite the indemnification of employers for social contributions to their employees enlisted in the reserves.
"The State of Israel cannot be satisfied with paying salaries to reserve soldiers, but can add to this an indemnification of all social contributions," it said, "even in normal times this is a distortion that must be corrected, but due to the Iron Sword War, in which over 300,<> soldiers were recruited to the reserves, a situation unprecedented before, this enormous mass imposes a huge economic burden on the business sector, which is required to deposit social benefits for employees who do not work for it without receiving any compensation."
Defense Minister Yoav Galant at a press conference, photo: Haim Goldberg/Flash90
Last week, the Knesset Finance Committee discussed an outline for indemnification for social contributions to employers whose employees have been drafted into the reserves.
The committee touched on one of the most serious distortions that exist, according to which when an employee is drafted into the reserves and is deducted from the workforce, he receives a full salary from the employer, including social benefits, but the employer receives reimbursement from the state only for the salary expenses he paid.
Lin, addressing the defense minister, added, "At the conclusion of the discussion on Sunday, the Labor Committee requested that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense bring before it within 15 days an outline for indemnifying employers for social contributions pursuant to section 376 of the National Insurance Law.
There is no need to wait for the time allotted by the committee to pass in full. Full indemnification of employers immediately for the period of hostilities is a necessary, correct and moral step, and later it must be institutionalized on a permanent basis.
We all have an interest in the reservists having a place to return to at the end of the fighting, and any relief – let alone correcting a historical injustice – is necessary to help the business sector get through this period in the best possible way."
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