Israeli Supreme Court to hear oral argument this Thursday (23/10 at 9:00 a.m.) in a petition filed by Kav LaOved against the National Labor Court's ruling that domestic caregivers are not entitled to overtime pay, as mandated by the work and rest hours law.

The government's legal advisor, who decided to join these proceedings in light of their public significance, announced today that he supports Kav LaOved's position, according to which the NLC's ruling needs to be overturned. The government's legal advisor stated, that "excluding domestic caregivers from the applicability of the work and rest hours law, without offering alternate compensation for their overtime work that will prevent the repressing of their rights as workers, is at odds with the law as it should be interpreted, considering its purpose and appropriate public and judicial policy."

A reminder – nearly two years ago, on February 2007, Kav LaOved submitted an appeal to the High Court of Justice regarding the question of the applicability of the "Work and Rest Hours Law" for the work of homecare workers (migrant workers for the most part) employed in the domestic nursing industry, and the obligation to pay them for overtime. The appeal contests the NLC decision, adjudicating that a homecare worker who worked for an elderly woman connected to a breathing machine was not entitled for overtime payment.

The petition claims that:

* The salary of nursing workers in the homecare industry currently stands on an average of less than 600 dollars per month. This sum is lower than the minimum wage for a 186-hours fulltime job. Many domestic caregivers effectively work for a much greater number of hours. Therefore there is an immense gap between the wage they receive and the sum they were supposed to receive for the range of their work hours according to the protective labor legislation.

* The National Labor Court's decision entirely excluded domestic caregivers from the applicability of the "Work and Rest Hours Law", seriously violating their basic rights according to protective labor legislation. Tens of thousands of workers, employed in irregular working patterns that require living in the employer's house and around-the-clock availability, are exposed by the court's decision to abuse, exploitation and deprivation.

* The National Labor Court's decision relies on an alien and irrelevant consideration, namely, the effect of overtime payment to these workers on the financial ability of employers to employ homecare workers at their service. The employer's financial situation cannot be used as a consideration in adjudicating the right of a worker to receive payment. Kav LaOved did not dispute the great importance of nursing services for their recipients, elderly and disabled persons who need help in performing daily functions, nor did it dispute that providing home nursing services of reasonable quality to those who need them is one of the expressions of the state's constitutional obligation to guarantee the dignity of its citizens' existence. But the appeal argues that the cost of nursing services, which the state is reluctant to pay, cannot be passed on to the migrant workers.

* The exclusion of domestic caregivers from the Act's applicability amounts to discrimination on the basis of national identity and gender. It is discrimination on a basis of national identity since the homecare industry, which includes living in the house of the employer, is overwhelmingly staffed by migrant workers; on the basis of gender, since the homecare industry is overwhelmingly staffed by women. It was emphasized that the National Labor Court's decision did not explicitly order the discrimination of nursing workers on the basis of their gender or their nationality, but the outcomes of the decision effectively make it a discriminatory one.

Kav LaOved commends the Government's legal advisor for supporting Kav LaOved's position in this matter, and for taking an unequivocal legal stand in relation to worker right to be justly and lawfully compensated for their work.

To view the petition (Hebrew) click here: 

For further details:

Hanna Zohar, Kav Loved's director, 052-5349867

Hanny Ben Israel, attorney for the petitioner, 052-5349874