Histadrut sounds alarm over collapse of Defense Ministry rehab services for wounded soldiers

The Histadrut labor federation approves the opening of a labor dispute at the Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department, citing extreme workloads and severe staff shortages that it says are undermining care for wounded IDF veterans.

The Rehabilitation Department is responsible for reintegrating injured IDF veterans and security personnel into civilian life by providing them with social services and financial support.

According to the Histadrut, the number of veterans treated by the division has surged to more than 82,000 since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, with some 22,000 added over the past two years and around 1,500 new cases each month.

Despite the increase, the federation says staffing levels have not been expanded, leaving employees responsible for hundreds of patients each and leading to longer waiting times, staff burnout and difficulties recruiting new workers.

“The division’s employees act with dedication and professionalism, but they cannot continue to shoulder alone the sharp rise in demand and the ongoing shortage of manpower,” says acting Histadrut chair Roy Yaakov. “This labor dispute is a wake-up call for the entire country: trauma treatment and rehabilitation are not marginal issues but a national infrastructure for social and economic resilience.”

“We are in a national emergency. The system responsible for treating disabled IDF veterans is collapsing,” says chairman of the Defense Ministry labor committee Sasson Peretz. “This is not just a localized overload, but the entire rehabilitation framework – from clinics to welfare services – is under enormous strain.”

In accordance with the law, notice of the labor dispute has been delivered to the supervisor of labor relations at the Labor Ministry, the Histadrut says. If a sustainable solution that includes expanding staffing and improving care for wounded veterans is not found, workers can take organizational action within two weeks.