The All-Israeli Association of Trade Unions, Histadrut, has made an appeal to Deputy Israel Eichler, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Labor and Social Security, requesting him to begin promoting a bill to reimburse employers for the pension contributions of workers called up for reservist duties. The initiative is supported by the Minister of Labor and the Minister of Defense.
According to Yossi Barabi, head of the trade union of employees in security companies, cleaning companies, and elderly care companies, this issue is particularly relevant in these fields where at least 20% of workers are called up for reservist service. These non-reimbursable losses for employers can amount to 22%-36% of an employee’s salary. This presents a significant financial burden on already unprofitable industries such as security companies that pay 25% of the salaries of 20% of their workforce.
The National Insurance Law currently compensates the wages of reservists based on their “gross” salary without including social conditions paid by their employer such as contributions to the pension fund, severance pay, vacation pay, health benefits, sick days and more. This lack of reimbursement has a significant impact on employers and their ability to remain profitable while also supporting their employees who risk their lives during reservist service.
In other news, there have been recent developments regarding listings for marijuana businesses in various counties and states across the country. While this topic may be relevant in certain areas it does not directly relate to the main focus of this article which is addressing concerns raised by Histadrut regarding pension contributions for reservists called up for duty.