Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Israel (Ratification: 1959)

The Committee notes the communication from the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) on behalf of the Philippines National Union of Workers in Hotel, Restaurant and Allied Industries (NUWHRAIN) and the Government’s reply thereto. The Committee refers in this regard to its comments on the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100), and the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97).

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of race, national extraction or religion. The Committee notes from the Government’s report, that in 2009, unemployment rates of the Arab Israeli population (representing 20 per cent of the population) while decreasing, reached 8.5 per cent (compared to 7.6 per cent for the Jewish population in 2009 and 6.8 per cent in 2007). The unemployment rate of Arab women remained at 10.1 per cent and labour force participation of Arab women continues to be very low (21 per cent). Ethiopian and Ultra-Orthodox communities also remain underrepresented in more senior and better paid jobs. The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) reported that according to a 2010 survey of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour (MOITAL), overall, 27 per cent of the employees felt discriminated against at work, rising to 39 per cent in the case of Arab employees. Nonetheless, as was noted previously, only a limited percentage of the 643 inquiries received by the EEOC during 2010 related to discrimination on the grounds of nationality (2 per cent) or descent (2 per cent). A 2011 MOITAL survey on private sector managers indicated that between 35 to 40 per cent of the managers found that Arabs, Ethiopians and mothers of young children were discriminated against in the labour market.

The Committee notes the continued efforts by the Government to improve the situation of the Arab, Druze and Circassian population, with particular emphasis on the employment of Arab women. The Government indicates that most of these initiatives are long-term focusing on development of communities and industrial zones, and that the cultural and social characteristics of each group have to be taken into account. The Committee notes the draft by-laws on the integration of minorities in the high-tech industries aiming at increasing the participation rate of Arab, Druze and Circassian graduates of technological subjects in the knowledge-rich industry, and the initiative under the EEOC strategy and implementation plan 2012–13 to enhance employment equality for Arab men and women in the private sector. It also notes the information on the activities of the Authority for Advancement of the Status of Women and the Authority for the Economic Development of the Arab, Druze and Circassian sectors. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the results achieved including related statistical information, through the implementation of the specific measures taken to promote equal access to employment of Arab Israelis, particularly women, and to promote their access to a wider range of occupations and industries. Please continue to provide in this context up-to-date information, disaggregated by sex, on labour force participation, unemployment and employment rates of Druze, Circassians and Arab Israelis and the corresponding rates for other Israelis. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on specific measures taken to prevent and address instances of direct and indirect discrimination in employment and occupation against Druze, Circassians, and Arab Israelis, including awareness-raising campaigns, complaints procedures, as well as information on any cases of such discrimination addressed by the courts or the labour inspection service.

Civil service. The Committee notes from the information provided by the Civil Service Commission that in 2010, the percentage of Arabs and Druze who entered the civil service was 11.09 per cent. Among newly recruited women, 7.35 per cent were Arab or Druze, compared to a rate of 16.64 per cent for Arab or Druze men. In the Government ministries and agencies, Arab and Druze represented 7.07 per cent of the total number of workers accepted, and 17.21 per cent of the total workers accepted in the Government health system. However, despite the increasing number of entrants, overall, Arabs and Druze constituted only 7.52 per cent of total civil servants (compared to 6.17 per cent in 2007) in 2010. The Committee notes the flagship initiative to enhance equality, diversity and non-discrimination in public sector recruitment under the EEOC strategy and implementation plan 2012–13. Recalling the target previously set by the Government that by 2012 at least 10 per cent of all civil servants would come from the Arab, Druze and Circassian population groups, the Committee requests the Government to intensify its efforts to promote and ensure equal access of the Arab, Druze and Circassian population to employment in the civil service, and to provide information on the progress made. Please include, statistical information, disaggregated by sex, and the outcomes of the employment-related projects under the responsibility of the Authority for the Economic Development of the Arab, Druze and the Circassian sectors, and the EEOC strategy and implementation plan 2012–13.

Foreign caregivers. The Committee refers to its comments under Convention Nos 97 and 100 regarding concerns expressed by the IUF with respect to the decision of the High Court of Justice in Yolanda Gloten v. the National Labour Court (HCJ 1678/07) of 29 November 2009 excluding the application of the Hours of Work and Rest Law 1951 to female foreign workers providing care on a live-in basis. According to the IUF, the Gloten judgment facilitates the application of a discriminatory legal regime to the work of women migrants and labour market segregation on the basis of gender and national origin. The IUF indicates that migrant workers are primarily from South and South-East Asia and employed in the construction, agriculture and caregiving sectors. Women represent the overwhelming majority, comprising 80 per cent of the workers in the caregiving sector, which is the largest sector for the employment of migrant workers. The Committee previously noted in its observation on Convention No. 97, that 54,000 foreign workers were employed in caregiving. The Committee notes the Government’s reply in its most recent report on Convention No. 97 that more female Israeli care workers than foreign care workers are employed in the long-term nursing sector (63,000), but that they are mostly employed in part-time jobs, through nursing care companies. The Committee recalls that the Convention covers both nationals and migrant workers and draws the Government’s attention to the need to ensure that all care workers, including foreign caregivers, are effectively protected against discrimination in employment and occupation on the grounds set out in the Convention, including with respect to their conditions of work. Noting that a governmental staff committee will submit recommendations regarding an appropriate legislative framework guaranteeing adequate pay and favourable working conditions for caregivers, after which a hearing will take place in the High Court of Justice, the Committee asks the Government to expedite this process and make every effort to ensure that female foreign workers are not being directly or indirectly discriminated against on the basis of sex, race, colour or national extraction. Please provide information on the recommendations made by the governmental staff committee and on the outcome of any new hearing by the High Court of Justice. The Committee also asks the Government to include information on complaints submitted by female foreign and national caregivers with the EEOC, the courts or other competent authorities, and their outcome, regarding non-respect of the discrimination principle set out in the national legislation and the Convention.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.