Amid labor shortage, 6,000+ Indian workers to reach Israel
More than 6,000 Indian workers will arrive in Israel during April and May to help the country's construction sector meet a labor shortage following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Israeli government has announced that these workers will be transported via a subsidized "air shuttle", a collaborative initiative of the Prime Minister's Office, finance ministry, and construction and housing ministry.
Unprecedented influx of foreign labor in Israel's construction
This large-scale importation of foreign labor is the most significant that Israel's construction sector has seen in a short period. The need for foreign labor arises from a shortage of local workers in certain areas of the industry, reports said. Historically, up to 80,000 workers were sourced from the Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank and 17,000 from Gaza Strip. However, due to ongoing conflict, many had their work permits revoked since October.
Government-to-government agreement facilitates worker import
The Indian workers are being brought to Israel under a government-to-government (G2G) agreement between the two nations. Just last week, 64 Indian construction workers arrived in Israel under this agreement. In addition to these arrivals, several more batches are expected in the coming weeks, totaling 850 by mid-April. Over recent months, more than 900 construction workers have arrived from India through a business-to-business (B2B) route involving recruitment agencies in both countries.
Bureaucratic procedures delay arrival of approved workers
Despite approval for over 20,000 workers from India and Sri Lanka after screening tests conducted by the Israeli Contractors Association (ICA), only about 1,000 have arrived so far. The delay has been attributed to "bureaucratic procedures," including obtaining various permits. The Israeli government has reportedly expressed its intention to expedite these procedures in order to facilitate the arrival of the remaining approved workers.
Israel's efforts to increase foreign workers in various sectors
In addition to workers from India and Sri Lanka, approximately 7,000 have come from China and around 6,000 from Eastern Europe. Currently, there are about 18,000 Indians working in Israel, mostly as caregivers. Last year, Israel and India signed an agreement to allow 42,000 Indians to work in Israel in the fields of construction and nursing.
