In a bid to address the shortage of labour in Israel’s construction sector, the Indian state of Haryana has announced plans to recruit and send 10,000 skilled workers to Israel. The move comes following the cancellation of work permits for around 90,000 Palestinians amid the country’s conflict with Hamas.
According to a notice issued by the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN) on Friday, the state government has identified four key job roles for the recruitment drive: framework/shuttering carpenter, iron bending, ceramic tile, and plastering.
“The first visa and work permit will be valid until the end of the calendar year and may be extended for additional periods of up to one year at a time to a maximum of 63 months,” the notice stated regarding the job contract.
There are 3,000 vacancies for Framework/Shuttering Carpenter and Iron Bending each and 2,000 vacancies for Ceramic Tile and Plastering each.
Applicants are required to have a minimum education qualification of Class 10 and a minimum working experience of three years. The age requirement ranges from 25 to 54 years.
Selected workers are set to receive a monthly salary of approximately $1,664 (Rs 138,235 or 6,100 Israeli New Shekel), along with medical insurance provided by their respective employers. The job contract allows for an initial validity until the end of the calendar year, with the possibility of an extension.
“The workers will be entitled to 236 hours of work per month, with overtime hours to be decided by their employers. All workers will be provided leave benefits as per Israel’s labor laws,” the notice further said.
Accommodation allowance and medical insurance charges are set to be deducted from the workers’ salaries, as specified in the announcement.
The Haryana government’s decision to send skilled workers to Israel follows recent statements by Union Minister V. Muraleedharan, who informed the Rajya Sabha that the Modi government had not engaged in discussions with Israel regarding the replacement of Palestinian workers by Indian labour.
