Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Israel (Ratification: 1965)

Application of the principle of the Convention to caregivers. In its previous observation the Committee referred to the possible discriminatory impact of 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, including provisions on overtime pay, to foreign women workers providing care on a live-in basis. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there is no discrimination against female caregivers on the basis of sex although they are in a female dominated sector. The Government also indicates that the High Court of Justice recently rejected the petition of Ms Gloten as it considered that live-in caregivers fall outside the current formulation of the Hours of Work and Rest Law because of the nature of the employment which cannot be restricted to specific hours and depends on the client’s health status. The Committee further notes that the governmental staff committee submitted the following recommendations to the Minister of Economy: the Hours of Work and Rest Law and its regulations concerning overtime pay should be amended in order to clarify that live-in caregivers are not excluded from the scope of the law, emphasizing the difficulty of supervising their work hours; instead of overtime pay, these workers would be entitled to a comprehensive wage which would include payment for overtime of not less than 120 per cent of the monthly minimum wage; the weekly rest would be no less than 25 hours; the Wage Protection Law, 1958, would be amended in order to limit the rate of the wage that the employer could pay in food and drink to no more than 732 shekels (ILS) per month; the regulation which entitles the employer to deduct half of the sum for housing should be abolished with respect to live-in caregivers and deductions for various expenses would not exceed ILS409 in the caregiving sector only. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to give effect to the recommendations formulated by the governmental staff committee and any difficulties encountered in this regard. The Committee further requests the Government to ensure that caregiving, which is a female-dominated sector, is not undervalued based on gender stereotypes, and to provide information on the specific measures adopted in this respect. Please include information on any complaints submitted by female foreign and national caregivers with the competent authorities, indicating the nature of the complaint and the outcome thereof.

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