Against all the odds, the Workers Advice Center (WAC) has succeeded in finding jobs for 35 Israeli Arab laborers on a building project at the Knesset, Israel's parliament. At a time when the Finance Minister declares the importance of encouraging Israelis to return to work, and contractors moan about the shortage of labor, one might think that finding jobs would be fairly straightforward. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Each time a local worker finds a job through the efforts of WAC, it is the result of a protracted struggle.

The struggle is not new. In 2001, WAC organized unemployed Arab workers to stand in protest before the Aaronson contracting firm in Migdal Ha-Emeq (see “The Local Arab Worker in the Era of Globalization,” Stephen Langfur, Challenge No. 68). This opened the way for hundreds of workers that have since found jobs in construction firms with WAC’s assistance.

In December 2003, WAC began working to enforce the Public Projects Law. This rules that public projects announced after 1 September 2001 must only employ Israelis, not foreign workers. The law, supported by the High Court, was not sufficient to bring the main players into line, especially the powerful contractors, who make more money by using foreign workers. Legislation is clearly not enough.

WAC has a lot of experience in the struggle that aims to return local workers to the job market. It has often exposed manipulations by the contractors, who often receive support from the government and the media. But nobody dared hope for an opportunity like the one that fell into our laps during our recent visit to the Knesset.

On 16 December 2003, the Knesset Committee on Foreign Workers hosted a tour of the Knesset building site. This was in response to a request by Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who wanted to clear the Knesset of the accusation that it hires foreign workers. WAC representatives Assaf Adiv and this writer, who regularly attend the committee's weekly meetings, were also invited, along with Committee Chairman MK Ron Cohen (Meretz), Committee Member MK Ehud Ratzavi (Shinui), Ephraim Cohen, Chairman of the Foreign Workers Administration in the Ministry of Industry, and Edna Tors, the Committee Coordinator. A reporter and a TV crew were also present.

“The tour is supposed to expose the truth and not hide anything,” MK Cohen explained as we walked. “If illegal workers are discovered, this will be dealt with.” Rivlin lead the group amid the excavations and the scaffolding, while proudly describing the spacious offices and halls that would be built. The work is to continue four years, providing hundreds of jobs.

We were welcomed by Project Manager Ilan Daniel, from the construction firm Shaphir, who gave us some information. Around 150 workers have so far been employed at the site, both directly and through subcontractors and employment agencies, including 72 foreign and 60 local workers. The number of local workers had recently fallen to 30, while all East Jerusalemites working there had been fired for security reasons.

On hearing these figures, Ephraim Cohen exclaimed that Shaphir was given permits to employ a maximum of 38 foreign workers. He asked where the other 35 had come from. Daniel explained that they had come from other Shaphir project sites and were legal, but this failed to satisfy Cohen. “A government decision that cannot be overruled states that only Israeli workers will be employed in national projects. We allowed 38 foreign workers to be employed here because the construction work at the Knesset is such a major project, but we did not permit any more than that.”

Rivlin, the tour's initiator, hadn't expected this turn of events. He replied, “The government must find a way to issue the permits, so that the Knesset project will not be held up.” At this stage, Assaf Adiv of WAC spoke out, suggesting that the Committee should uphold the law instead of seeking a way around it. “WAC is prepared to bring 35 local workers to job interviews next week,” he said. Rivlin was suspicious. “We hear plenty of declarations,” he said, “but we are willing to give you the chance to show us how you work in practice. If you can bring me the local workers, I will employ them tomorrow.”

During the subsequent discussion, MK Cohen asked the project manager what would be needed to encourage Israelis to work. “Israelis want management positions, not manual labor,” the Shaphir representative replied. Again, Adiv pointed out the mistake. “There are hundreds of workers presently on WAC’s lists,” he said. “But we are unable to find companies ready to employ them under legal working conditions.”

In fact, WAC has approached Shaphir a number of times during the last two years, suggesting it employ local workers on the Knesset site and in other projects. Each suggestion was rejected. Towards the end of the tour, Ephraim Cohen told WAC, “This is your test – you must prove that you aren’t just talk.”

The Committee invited the workers to come for interviews on the following Monday. Shaphir representative Ilan Daniel told us quietly that he would be happy to take local workers, including those who are not professional builders. We returned to Tel Aviv anticipating a busy week that might prove decisive for our struggle.

WAC: Struggling in the Field

It wasn’t by chance that WAC took part in the Knesset tour. Our participation in the committee is part of our ongoing struggle to see that the Public Projects Law is enforced. Unceasing pressure from workers, the rejection by the construction companies, and the government’s unwillingness to act, all compelled us to go forward on our own.

One day before the Knesset tour, a protest vigil was held in Tel Aviv involving many WAC members, including both unemployed workers and those who had found jobs. They demanded places of work for the unemployed.

The background to this vigil was tense. Only a week prior to the protest, Yehuda Segev, the Contractors Union General Manager, had claimed in a newspaper interview that “one of the main reasons for the collapse of companies… is the lack of foreign workers” (Ziv Maor, Haaretz Real Estate, 12 December 2003).

Lacking any other option, we decided to take an unusual step and call on all the workers that approached us to hold a demonstration. WAC members that had already found work also signed up for the struggle, and a precedent was set – a joint struggle and mark of solidarity between the workers and the unemployed.

The protest left its mark, encouraging the unemployed. The opportunity that presented itself at the Knesset, to bring the issue onto the public agenda, came at the right moment. And so one week later, the unemployed demonstrators came to job interviews with Shaphir.

WAC proves it can be done

We spent the week before the interviews recruiting workers, and the list of those interested in the Knesset project grew daily. At the last minute, however, an unexpected difficulty arose. The workers were refused permission to enter the Knesset. Only after the Knesset Committee intervened were we able to obtain a group entry permit to the Knesset construction site under the protection of a Knesset guard.

On the appointed day, 35 workers were on the bus – exactly the number we had promised. Here the question arose: would the WAC members, contrary to the claims of the contractors, be considered professional enough? The workers were interviewed in groups, each together with a group leader. Ilan Daniel, the project manager, interviewed each group in person, and finally confirmed their suitability to work on the site. From his point of view, he said, they had all been accepted and would gradually be employed by the company. “You will be far from home, which will be difficult, but I hope this pans out. We will have workers, and you will have jobs.” WAC succeeded on two fronts – it had provided the quantity and the quality. n

Update: On January 20, ten WAC members began work at the Knesset site. Some are still awaiting security clearance. WAC is following the case closely, trying to get all 35 on the job.

Protest Vigil by the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv

ON 15 DECEMBER 2003, WAC unemployed workers and construction workers held a protest next to the Azrieli Towers in Tel Aviv. The protest was a rare show of solidarity – tens of unemployed from the North and “The Triangle” came to Tel Aviv in convoys, and at the end of the working day they were joined by their comrades who had already found work through WAC. Passersby looked at the protest in amazement, and many voiced support.

Public interest in the protest started in the morning when the Channel 2 program “It’s All Just Words” interviewed WAC National Coordinator Assaf Adiv. Adiv explained that WAC has hundreds of candidates ready to work at any site, even if that means they will have to sleep away from home. Because construction firms prefer to employ cheaper foreign workers, WAC submitted a complaint to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and to the Prime Minister’s Office. The approaches were ignored. These offices, in theory, should support WAC’s position, which accords with government decisions aimed at lowering unemployment rates.

Avigdor Yitzhaki, General Director of the Prime Minister’s Office, came on the line during the interview. He claimed that WAC’s letter had never reached him but that he would be happy to read it. He pledged to ensure that everyone who wanted work would be employed. Despite his public promises, and despite the fact that WAC’s letter was sent again the same day, WAC has still had no response from the PM’s Office.

I spoke to Dani Ben Simhon, WAC representative in Galilee, and asked how the idea to hold a protest in Tel Aviv originally arose.

Ben Simhon: “At the beginning we were quite concerned. There was no certainty that workers and the unemployed would agree to go to Tel Aviv to protest without knowing in advance what the results would be. But after speaking to some of the workgroup leaders, and with some of the unemployed on our lists, we saw that many were willing. In addition, we all felt we had nothing to lose. The site of the protest was chosen deliberately – under the offices of the Azrieli Towers in front of the government compound project, which is a public project.”

MS: “How did the unemployed respond to the idea?”

BS: “I was pleasantly surprised by the number of workers who expressed willingness to join the protest. They showed complete faith in WAC, even though they haven’t been with us long. Of course, their response also shows the difficult situation for those who are seeking steady work. It is likely that most of them would have no difficulty in finding a day’s work here and there, but they are tired of worrying about being cheated or exploited by the employers.

“People heard about the protest by word of mouth, through friends and family. We had the feeling that the unemployed were reflecting the situation of many others who would also be interested in joining WAC and obtaining secure and stable work.”

I met Abu Samar, the unemployed leader of a workgroup from Galilee on the bus that brought the workers to the interviews at the Knesset. He explained why he had decided to participate in the struggle.

“I came to WAC about half a year ago through one of the workers from our village who had found a job. They have not yet managed to find me work, but I was impressed by the organization and its activities. When they invited me to join the protest, I took it very seriously. I hoped I would be able to explain what hurt me and my friends: we are tax-paying citizens, and foreign workers must not be allowed to take our jobs, especially not in projects that are financed from taxes that we pay. We cannot go on sitting quietly at home, struggling to make ends meet with the pennies from unemployment benefits or from contractors who cheat us.”