Disgruntled diplomats said refusing to process visas for Nepalese nursing home staff
Some 1,000 workers not being let into Israel due to labor dispute, according to report, as representative of geriatric institutions declares extreme shortage of care providers
Around 1,000 Nepalese nationals are reportedly unable to enter Israel for work caring for the elderly and infirm, caught in the crossfire of an ongoing labor dispute between Foreign Ministry staff and the Treasury.
Diplomats declared a labor dispute in November in search of better compensation and benefits for the ministry’s envoys and employees. The dispute, the latest move in a years-long battle over work conditions, stops short of a full-blown strike but allows workers to refuse to carry out certain tasks.
Israel in 2020 signed an agreement with Nepal and Georgia to bring over workers who would, for the first time, be permitted to work in old age homes, including geriatric hospitals, nursing homes, and mental health facilities. In the past the workers were only permitted to care for individuals in private settings.
However, requests for the Foreign Ministry’s exception committee to provide entry permits for the workers, bypassing coronavirus restrictions, have gone unanswered due to the so-called Italian strike, according to a Tuesday report in Walla.
“Instead of seeing them arrive, we were amazed to see an unforeseen reason is delaying about 1,000 workers who are so much needed to attend to the senior citizens in institutes,” said Nahi Katz, director of the nonprofit Association of Aged Care Homes.
“We expect someone in the country to come to his senses and solve the problem,” Katz told Walla.
Itzik Cohen, CEO of the Israel Geriatric organization, described the staffing shortage as “severe,” made worse by individuals unable to work due to quarantine restrictions.
“The situation that has arisen directly affects the quality of care that the elderly receive,” Cohen said.
Another 1,500 workers were expected to arrive in the future, according to the report.
The Foreign Ministry workers union blamed Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman for not calling a meeting to discuss solutions the union has proposed to settle the labor dispute.
Lapid, the union said in a statement, “is the one holding in his hands the solution to the crisis.”
Foreign Ministry employees have been in a labor dispute on and off for years over their work conditions, and often threaten wide-ranging or high-profile moves to pressure management, such as torpedoing diplomatic visits.
The union last week said it would stop prepping for an upcoming visit to Israel by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, potentially nixing the trip slated for next month.
