Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

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

The Committee takes note of the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee proceeded with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government this year, as well as the information at its disposal in 2019.

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Discrimination on the basis of sex, race, colour or national extraction. Foreign live-in caregivers. The Committee recalls that in its previous comments it noted that, although the decision of the High Court of Justice in Yolanda Gloten v. the National Labour Court, HCJ 1678/07, of 29 November 2009, confirmed the exclusion of live-in caregivers, nationals and non-nationals from the applicability of the Hours of Work and Rest Law, 1951, it also concluded that the current legal framework did not offer a proper mechanism suitable for the unique situation of caregivers, as the Court did not consider that the round-the-clock live-in employment of caregivers corresponded to the general framework of protective labour law. The Committee noted that the Gloten Judgment acknowledged that only a small number of local citizens are willing to work as caregivers and that female Israeli care workers in the long-term caregiving sector were mostly employed in part-time jobs through nursing care companies, while foreign caregivers, 80 per cent of whom are women, are required to reside in the homes of their employers and are excluded from live-out arrangements or part-time employment. It further noted that the Government Staff Committee had submitted recommendations to the Ministry of the Economy, which included a proposal to amend the Hours of Work and Rest Law and its regulations concerning overtime pay in order to clarify that live-in caregivers are not excluded from the scope of the Law, with some adaptation to take into consideration the difficulty of supervising their working hours. Consequently, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on: (1) the concrete measures adopted or envisaged within the framework of the gradual approach to the implementation of the recommendations made to the Ministry of the Economy with a view to ensuring that foreign women workers are effectively protected against direct and indirect discrimination on the basis of sex, race, colour or national extraction, in line with the Convention; and (2) any complaints submitted by caregivers to the various authorities, indicating the nature of the complaints and the outcomes. The Committee notes that in its report the Government reiterates that there is no discrimination between national and foreign caregivers, but does not provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to implement progressively the recommendations made by the Government Staff Committee to the Ministry of the Economy, nor on any complaints submitted by women foreign and national caregivers to the various authorities. Noting that a large number of live-in caregivers are foreign women workers, the Committee stresses that the current situation may open the door to segregation in the labour market on the basis of sex, race and colour against migrant women, who are likely to be exposed to both indirect and direct discrimination. With regard to indirect discrimination, the Committee asks the Government to: (i) assess whether the exclusion of live-in caregivers from the applicability of the Hours of Work and Rest Law, 1951, disproportionately affects groups sharing protected characteristics, such as sex, race, colour or national extraction; and (ii) provide information on any measures adopted or envisaged to improve the working conditions of live-in caregivers in practice. The Committee reiterates its request for information on any complaints submitted by caregivers that relate to cases of discrimination (including information on the number of complaints, their nature and outcomes). The Committee also refers to its comments on the application of the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), and the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100).

Articles 1 and 2. Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of race, national extraction or religion. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation of the Arab, Druze and Circassian population. The Committee also requested the Government to monitor the impact on the employment of workers from these communities of the provisions of the Basic Law on the Nation State, 2018, regarding the official language and days of rest. The Committee notes that the Government has provided a detailed report on the labour market in Israel in 2019, indicating among other information that: (1) the groups of Arab men and ultra-orthodox Jewish women have joined the labour market in great numbers and their rates of employment are currently close to the average (an employment rate of 76 per cent in 2018 for both groups); (2) improvements are still needed for a better integration in the labour market of Arab women (employment rate 38.2 per cent in 2018); (3) other groups still face low employment rates (including ultra-orthodox Jewish men, immigrants from Ethiopia, people with disabilities, single parents and workers aged 45 and above); and (4) Arab and ultra-orthodox workers are over-represented in lower income employment categories. The Committee also notes that, according to the same report, the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Social Services established a public committee for the promotion of employment towards 2030 that set target employment rates for the different population groups for the next decade. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to promote and ensure in practice the integration of Arab, Druze and Circassian workers, men and women, into the labour market, including in higher income categories, and to continue providing statistical data on employment rates disaggregated by sex and population group.

With regard to the impact of the Basic Law on the Nation State, 2018, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is a general law aimed at regulating the symbols of the State and is not related to employment. The Government also specifies that the status given to the Arabic language remains unchanged by the Law. The Committee notes that, according to the report provided by the Government on the labour market in Israel in 2019, only around 41 per cent of Arab women consider their command of Hebrew to be good, very good or at native language level, and specifies that their employment rate improves drastically with a higher command of Hebrew. The Committee recalls that discrimination based on national extraction may occur when legislation imposing a State language for employment in public and private sector activities is interpreted and implemented too broadly, and as such disproportionately and adversely affects the employment and occupational opportunities of minority language groups (General Survey of 2012 on fundamental Conventions, paragraph 764). The Committee therefore requests the Government to assess whether the implementation in practice of the provisions of the Basic Law on the Nation State, 2018, and particularly section 3 setting Hebrew as the State language and section 11 establishing the Sabbath and Jewish holidays as days of rest in the State, adversely affect the employment and occupational opportunities of certain population groups.

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