Israel agrees to recruit 1,500 Sri Lankan workers for six months’ agricultural work

The Population and Immigration Authority of the State of Israel (PIBA) and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) have reached an arrangement for a speedy recruitment of 1,500 Sri Lankan agricultural workers for a six-month work period in Israel during the first half of 2013.

According to an arrangement reached recently, the recruitment of the 1,500 Sri Lankan agricultural workers will be carried out in Sri Lanka by the SLBFE through the State-owned Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Agency Ltd. (SLFEA). The recruitment will be carried out in coordination with the Israeli side, without the involvement of other private recruitment agencies in Sri Lanka.

A key element in the arrangement is the obligation of both sides to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the applicants and selected workers will not be asked to make any payments for their recruitment above the permitted payments set in the arrangement. The recruited workers will also receive information concerning their rights and obligations under the arrangement, including their obligation to leave Israel at the end of their six-month work permit period.

The Israeli side has undertaken to take steps to ensure the protection of the recruited workers’ rights in Israel as well as to supervise the employers of the workers, in accordance with Israeli legislation. A migrant worker in Israel is entitled to the same working conditions as an Israeli employee, including minimum wage. The State of Israel welcomes migrant workers who seek legal employment, and makes every effort to safeguard their legal rights and protect them against exploitation by employers.

After reaching the arrangement, the Ambassador of Israel to Sri Lanka Alon Ushpiz, said: “This is an important step in further solidifying the ties between our countries, and not less importantly, between our people. This arrangement provides a win-win situation. On the one hand, the Israeli employers are keen on hosting workers from Sri Lanka after being exceptionally happy with their performance in the past. On the other hand, Sri Lankan workers in Israel are not only entitled by law to descent working conditions and a minimum wage, but they also get a chance to get acquainted with Israeli agriculture techniques and know-how, which will be of value to them once they return to their homes in

Sri Lanka.”