Israel: Migrant workers charged high recruitment fees, trapped in debt bondage & unable to escape Gaza conflict
Summary
Date Reported: 23 Oct 2023
Location: Israel
Other
Not Reported ( Health and social care ) - Employer , Not Reported ( Recruitment agencies ) - RecruiterAffected
Total individuals affected: 1
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - India , Health and social care , Gender not reported )Issues
Recruitment Fees , Restricted mobilityResponse
Response sought: No
Source type: News outlet
“Trapped by debt: migrant workers in Israel unable to escape conflict”
Migrant workers in Israel have said that they are unable to return home to their families after the 7 October attacks as they are trapped in debt from the high recruitment fees they had to pay for their jobs.
…There are reportedly more than 100,000 foreign workers in Israel, with the majority working as caregivers, as well as in agriculture and construction…
The Guardian spoke to several migrant workers…
Yet all said they were unable to because of the high recruitment fees – sometimes tens of thousands of dollars – they were made to pay by recruitment agencies before travelling to work in Israel…
The International Labour Organization (ILO) mandates that employers should pay any financial fees attached to recruiting migrant workers from abroad. However, Israel makes workers pay these “placement fees” themselves, a practice that has drawn criticism from human rights experts…
A shortage of workers in Israel’s healthcare and agriculture sectors and the high debts people can incur when travelling to work in the country can lead to migrant workers being exploited and forced to work long hours without breaks…