Kav La'Oved (literally in Hebrew: Worker's Hotline) is an
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i non-profit association, founded in 1991. Its objective is to protect the rights of disadvantaged workers. It provides information, advice, and legal representation for the most deprived workers in Israel –migrant workers,
PalestinianThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with family origins in Palestine...
workers and Israeli
low-wage earnersA minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly wage that employers may legally pay to employees or workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labor. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion...
.
Kav LaOved has four main branches in Israel (Tel-Aviv,
HaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs giving an example for peaceful co-existence. The Arab population used to be predominantly Christian, while some of the Jewish...
,
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
, and Beersheva) and two extensions in the Palestinian Authority (offices in Qalqiliya) and
JerichoJericho is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate, and has a population of over 20,000 Palestinians. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest...
, plus area coordinators for Palestinian workers employed in Israeli settlements in the
West BankThe West Bank is a landlocked territory and is the eastern part of the Palestinian territories; on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel, which maintains the security of this area. To the east,...
).
Kav La'Oved (literally in Hebrew: Worker's Hotline) is an
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i non-profit association, founded in 1991. Its objective is to protect the rights of disadvantaged workers. It provides information, advice, and legal representation for the most deprived workers in Israel –migrant workers,
PalestinianThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with family origins in Palestine...
workers and Israeli
low-wage earnersA minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly wage that employers may legally pay to employees or workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labor. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion...
.
Activities
Kav LaOved has four main branches in Israel (Tel-Aviv,
HaifaHaifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs giving an example for peaceful co-existence. The Arab population used to be predominantly Christian, while some of the Jewish...
,
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
, and Beersheva) and two extensions in the Palestinian Authority (offices in Qalqiliya) and
JerichoJericho is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate, and has a population of over 20,000 Palestinians. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest...
, plus area coordinators for Palestinian workers employed in Israeli settlements in the
West BankThe West Bank is a landlocked territory and is the eastern part of the Palestinian territories; on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel, which maintains the security of this area. To the east,...
). The organization has several staffers and dozens of volunteers who regularly work and provide individual help, collect information, and document the condition of disadvantaged workers in Israel. Ms. Hannah Zohar founded Kav LaOved and has served as its manager since then; the organization's legal counsel is Yuval Livnat, while Eran Golan is the attorney who is most involved in the public arena.
There are four aspects to the organization's efforts - the individual, public, education & advocacy, and civic enforcement aspects.
Individual – providing advice and legal representation for low-wage workers. Legal aid includes help on issues of Labour laws,
Tax lawTax law is the codified system of laws that describes government levies on economic transactions, commonly called taxes.- Major issues :Primary taxation issues facing the governments world over include;* taxes on income and wealth...
s,
National InsuranceNational Insurance in the United Kingdom was initially a contributory system of insurance against illness and unemployment, and later also provided retirement pensions and other benefits...
issues,
Legal statusIn law legal status refers to the concept of individuals having a particular place in society, relative to the law, as it determines the laws which affect them....
in Israel, and arranging
Work permitWork permit is a generic term for a legal authorization which allows a person to take employment.It is most often used in reference to instances where a person is given permission to work in a country where one does not hold citizenship, but is also used in reference to minors, who in some...
s.
Public - Kav LaOved applies the substantial know-how and experience its staff has acquired in individual cases to work towards societal change. It does so by filing principled petitions to the courts, drawing up draft bills, and working vis-à-vis the
KnessetThe Knesset is the legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Operation of the Knesset:...
(Israel's parliament), government offices and the media. The organization identifies and indicates phenomena and mechanisms of exploitation that disempower workers. With other organizations, Kav LaOved strives to amend laws and regulations and to introduce improvements in law-enforcement agencies.
Education & Advocacy – Raising awareness to
worker rightsLabor rights or workers' rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers, usually obtained under labor and employment law. In general, these rights' debates have to do with negotiating workers' pay, benefits, and safe...
, among others by writing and issuing mini-notebooks that list basic rights. The notebooks are printed in several languages, and their contents are featured on internet sites, in leaflets, and reports. Workshops for workers and lectures for the general public are also given.
Civic Enforcement – Working to protect worker rights by using enforcement mechanisms of state authorities, instead of turning to the courts. The term civic enforcement relates to alternative mechanisms: these include "naming and shaming" employers who violate worker rights, and encouraging workers and consumers to avoid associating with such employers. Kav LaOved documents complaints and rulings against employers and personnel contractors: it uses legal means to publish the names of employers and companies whose business operations have been defined by the authorities as flawed.
Kav LaOved operates in tandem with other non-government organizations (
NGONon-governmental organization is a term that has become widely accepted as referring to a legally constituted, non-governmental organization created by natural or legal persons with no participation or representation of any government...
s) such as
Association for Civil Rights in IsraelThe Association for Civil Rights in Israel was created as an independent non-partisan organization to protect human rights and civil rights in Israel and the territories under its control....
, the Hotline for migrant worker, and
Physicians for Human RightsPhysicians for Human Rights is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that promotes health by protecting human rights. It is an organization that believes that human rights are essential preconditions for the health and well-being of all people...
– to change policy on matters of principle. Among others, the association is involved in the Forum for Enforcement of Worker Rights which focuses on the rights of contract-workers, in the Mandatory
PensionIn general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. It is a tax deferred savings vehicle that allows for the tax-free accumulation of a fund for later use as a retirement income...
Coalition, the Migrant Workers Forum, and in a joint project with some branches of the
Palestine General Federation of Trade UnionsThe Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions , also called the Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions or Palestinian Trade Union Federation , is a national trade union center in the Palestinian Territories...
(PGFTU).
Kav LaOved is funded by donations from foundations and private donors.
Awards & Prizes
- 1998 – Kav LaOved was given the Emil Grunzweig
Emil Grunzweig was an Israeli educator and peace activist, one of the prominent members of the Peace Now movement...
Human Rights Award, an annual award by the Association for Civil Rights in IsraelThe Association for Civil Rights in Israel was created as an independent non-partisan organization to protect human rights and civil rights in Israel and the territories under its control....
to "an individual or NGO that has made a unique contribution to the advancement of human rights in Israel", for its work for the rights of migrant workers in Israel.
- 2003 – The Knesset Speaker's Award for endeavours strengthening democracy.
- 2004 – Hannah Zohar was named by the Globes
Globes is a Hebrew language daily evening financial newspaper, published in Israel. According to TGI 2008 media survey Globes has a market share of 3.1%. Its main competitors in printed media are TheMarker of Haaretz group and Calcalist published by Yedioth Ahronoth Group...
newspaper as one of Israel's 50 most positively influential women.
- 2006 – Kav LaOved won the Silver Rose award, granted by Solidar
SOLIDAR is a European network of NGOs and labour movement organisations working towards all people living in dignity. SOLIDAR promotes the principles of solidarity, equality and social justice in the areas of social affairs, international cooperation and education.With 53 member organisations...
– an independent international alliance of NGOs – for its efforts in the field of workers rights.
- 2007 – Hannah Zohar was chosen by Israeli newspaper The Marker as one of the 40 women at the forefront of social endeavours in Israel.
- 2007 – Hannah Zohar, the founder and director of Kav LaOved, received the New Israel Foundation's Human Rights Award.
Achievements
- A successful petition to Israel's Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is at the head of the court system in the State of Israel. It is the highest judicial instance. The Supreme Court sits in Jerusalem. The area of its jurisdiction is the entire State. A ruling of the Supreme Court is binding upon every court, other than the Supreme Court itself...
against binding migrant workers to their employers. Kav LaOved appealed jointly with other NGOs (The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, The Hotline for Migrant Workers, Physicias for Human Rights, The Adva CenterAdva Center is a non-partisan, leftist, action-oriented Israeli policy analysis center.Adva is the Hebrew word for ripple.It was founded in 1991 by activists from three social movements: the movement for equality for Mizrahi Jews, the feminist movement, and the movement for equal rights for Arab...
, Mehuyavut – Commitment for Peace and Social Jusicey, and Tel-Aviv University's Human RightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
Legal ClinicA legal clinic is a law school program providing hands-on-legal experience to law school students and services to various clients. Clinics are usually directed by clinical professors...
).
- An amendment to the National Insurance law obligating National Insurance to pay wage-replacement pension (e.g. maternity leave, payments for reserve military service) in an amount not less than the minimum wage – even if the employer paid its workers less, and set less aside to the National Insurance (the amendment covers all workers in all sectors)
- Direct payment of pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. It is a tax deferred savings vehicle that allows for the tax-free accumulation of a fund for later use as a retirement income...
s to PalestinianThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with family origins in Palestine...
workers by the Payments Section of the Employment Service. This replaces the previous method, where the pensions were redeemed by attorneys who charged the workers unnecessary fees.
- Reinstatement of the tax credit points for migrant workers, revoked in January 2007.
- Under a government decision from August 2007 Israel will now sign bilateral agreements with all countries of origin of migrant workers. The agreements will stipulate, among others, the reducing of brokerage fees paid by migrant workers coming to Israel. The decision reflected a 180-degree change from the Foreign Ministry's previously stated opinion on the matter (that Israel would not sign bilateral agreements concerning migrant workers). It is the direct outcome of Kav LaOved's petitioning of the High Court.
- In September 2007, the Justice Ministry's Commission for Licensing Private Investigator
A private investigator or private detective is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigations. Private investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
s and Security Companies announced that it was making the annual licence-renewal of all security companies conditional on their paying pensions and other social benefits to their workers.
- In October 2007, Israel's Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice in a panel of nine judges, unanimously adopted a petition by Kav LaOved, and ruled that Israeli laws must apply to Palestinians working in West Bank
The West Bank is a landlocked territory and is the eastern part of the Palestinian territories; on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel, which maintains the security of this area. To the east,...
settlements.
- Significantly increased awareness among low-earning workers about their rights, following massive information campaigns.
External links