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Israel: Cabinet Applies Disabled Employment Agreement to Full Economy
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By Jenny David
Dec. 17—Israel's cabinet voted a 3 percent target for employment of the disabled into law Nov. 30, making the quota mandatory for all Israeli workplaces with at least 100 employees, whether in the private or public sector.
The decision formalizes an agreement signed by Economy Minister Naftali Bennett in September with the Histadrut National Labor Federation, the Israel Business Association and the Lahav Association for the Self-Employed, under which the disabled must comprise 2 percent of an employer's workforce within a year, 3 percent within two years.
The agreement requires the civil service commissioner in cooperation with the finance, justice and economy ministers and the equal opportunity commissioner for the disabled to issue a plan to implement the order within 45 days. In addition, each workplace must appoint an employee to oversee the optimal integration and representation of the disabled workers.
‘Genuine Integration'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Histadrut chairman Avi Nissenkorn both welcomed the measure.
Netanyahu called it a social justice provision of the highest order and said it will allow the disabled to take part in the Israeli workforce “as equal members and equal contributors,” while Nissenkorn praised the government for setting an example.
Lahav president Ehud Ratzabi, who also heads the Israel Foundation for Handicapped Children, called the cabinet decision “a revolution that will open new opportunities in the labor force for people with disabilities and give them the prospect of genuine integration into Israeli society.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Jenny David in Jerusalem at correspondents@bna.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rick Vollmar at rvollmar@bna.com
For more information on HR law and regulation, see the Israel primer.