I met the worker first on the 3rd of August. He came here from India approximately 8 months ago. His English is OK. The worker is relatively older compared to others that we generally meet. He looked as if he was on the verge of tears. He said that he used to work for an elderly person in Herzliya. He worked for 6 months until one morning the daughter of the elderly person called him and said that his job was terminated. The elderly person was moving to a nursing home.

When the worker asked why he was not informed of this decision sooner, the daughter responded with laughter (according to the worker). The worker then requested the salary for the month of July, and the daughter got mad and said that he, the worker, was the reason for her father’s moving to a nursing home, as well as for his hospitalization in an intensive care unit. Eventually, the daughter and the worker went to the employment agent. The employment agent suggested that to end the employment amicably, the employer’s daughter should pay the worker 4,300 shekels. The daughter agreed in principle.

Later, the worker came to me. I calculated what he severance pay should be. I added the July salary, and difference between the minimum wage and what the worker was paid in practice, holidays, Saturdays, and due notice. The worker was pleased to learn of all this. When I spoke to the elderly person’s daughter, she made it clear the she is very displeased and is unwilling to pay even the 4300 shekels that the agent had suggested. Her current offer is only 2,000 shekels, since according to her, the worker provided very poor services.

The elderly person’s daughter explained that her father had lost 15 kilos and reached the intensive care unit, and then added that worker even sexually assaulted a girl living in the vicinity. He therefore “deserves” only 2000 shekels.

The worker is sitting next to me in the office. He hears the translation of the conversation to English and explains the he needs the money to send to his children. They do not have anything to eat since July, and the last time he received a salary was in the beginning of July. He tells me that he is willing to settle for the 4,300 shekels, but I explain to him that she is no longer offering that.

Legal procedures will take long, and the elderly person’s daughter claims the she is a single parent of 7 children living on welfare programs, and does not have the money to pay him. They both, however, agree to mediation.

The employer’s daughter arrived to the mediation meeting with her own daughter, a law student. The worker was visibly upset. We sat in a small room, the mediators are speaking quietly, the daughter of the employer and law student are hostile and shouting. They are blaming the worker for the condition of her father, his loss of weight. The elderly person’s daughter tells of a day when she asked to feed her father, and watched from the window, and saw that he was not feeding him. She claims that he used to leave his job in the evenings, and that her father arrived to a wedding once with a bloody wound on his cheek. She said the worker said her father had fallen. She repeated her claim that the employer assaulted a 6 years old girl. She gets louder and her descriptions grow longer. The mediators sit silently and listen, while I am translating the conversations into English. I have difficulties telling him everything that the elderly person’s daughter says.

Then the worker has an opportunity to speak. In broken English and with a lot of emotion he explains that he has not been paid since July. He treated the elderly person as if he were his own father. He even spent Saturdays at work since he wanted to earn extra pay to send to his children. He uses body language to demonstrate that the money is for his hungry children.

We left the room. The mediators consulted. Then they invited the elderly person’s daughter back into the room and spoke with her. Then we were invited inside. The worker tells us about the event at the playground. The children became curious about him. A girl the age of his own daughter was playing in the playground with other children, she approached him, and he gave her a kiss on the forehead. The worker is fearful about the daughter’s false accusations. The mediators say that the daughter didn’t go back to that issue. The worker is now a bit more relaxed; he claims to be focused on the future rather than the past. The mediators ask what compensation the worker wants, and after some deliberations he writes down 6,000 shekels on a piece of paper. The mediator explains that if he sticks to this figure, the daughter may just walk away. The worker writes on a second note 5,000 shekels, and I tell him that I think that this is reasonable.

The mediators call the employer’s daughter in, the mood is civil. It appears as though an agreement is nearing. The process is already over two hours long. The elderly person’s daughter and granddaughter agree to the figure, and everything appears to go well. The worker will be able to survive until he finds a new employer. Maybe he could even send some money home. The mediator then asks how the worker will receive his wages. It turns out that the employer’s daughter does not have her checkbook. She demands that he come to her house to receive the money. He does not want to go there. The entire deal is at stake. Voices grow louder. I can see how in a moment they will just walk away, and the worker can forget about any agreement. He will not receive anything.

I enter the picture, and offer to pick up the check myself. The worker says he will not sign anything until he receives payments. He is fearful that he is being tricked. I tell him that if he has faith in me, he should sign the agreement. The mediator tells the worker that this is a binding contract and that if the employer’s daughter does not pay, he can go with this contract to the court. He finally agrees to sign the contract. I hope we helped him. Without this mediation, he might have received only 2,000 shekels.

As we leave, I ask the mediator, who’s a lawyer, why he volunteers for mediation. He explains that he envisions a more civil negotiation process that reduces the hostility between the parties. Everybody shake hands; the employer’s daughter tells the worker she’s sorry. She laughs in embarrassment, and says that she cannot overcome tears in her eyes. I hope that I did not betray the worker’s trust, and that I indeed helped him.