6,000 workers from India to be brought to Israel during April-May
Jerusalem (PTI): More than 6,000 Indian workers will arrive in Israel during April and May to help the country's construction sector meet a labour shortage following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
They will be will be brought to Israel on "air shuttle" following a joint decision by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), finance ministry and the construction and housing ministry on subsidising charter flights, a statement issued by the Israeli government late Wednesday said.
The construction industry of Israel employs workers in specific fields where there is a lack of Israeli workers.
The largest group of about 80,000 workers came from the Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank and another 17,000 from the Gaza Strip. But a huge majority of them had their work permit revoked after conflict started in October.
The statement said this is the “largest number of foreign workers arriving in Israel for the construction sector in a short time".
"Thanks to the joint financing of the PMO, the finance ministry and the construction and housing ministry, it was agreed approximately one week ago on the arrival of over 6,000 workers from India during April and May on an 'air shuttle' following the subsidising of charter flights," it said.
The statement was released after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting at the PMO here amid an acute shortage of workers that has stalled several projects, causing concerns of increasing cost of living and also friction between various government bodies and businesses.
The workers from India are being brought to Israel under a government-to-government (G2G) agreement between to the countries.
On Tuesday last week, 64 construction workers from India arrived in Israel under the agreement. There will be a series of arrivals in the coming weeks, a total of 850 by mid-April.
A little over 900 construction workers have arrived from India during the last few months through the B2B route, involving human resources agencies in both countries.
Talking to PTI, sources in the construction sector had said after three months, during which more than 20,000 workers from India and Sri Lanka were approved for jobs through screening tests conducted by the Israeli Contractors Association (ICA), only about 1,000 workers had arrived.
They had blamed "bureaucratic procedures", including obtaining various permits, for the delay.
Most of the selected workers are said to have resigned from their jobs and waiting to receive a visa to work in Israel, the sources had claimed.
"The Israeli government has repeatedly reported its intention to speed up these procedures but has not done so," a source claimed and added that all involved stakeholders in Israel are said to have proposed several plans in their discussions with the government to fast-track the process.
Last week, the ICA had told PTI: "The task assigned to us by the government was carried out at a record pace. It has been weeks since we completed three rounds of selection of workers in which professional approval was given to employ more than 20,000 workers, half of them in the government track and half in the business track."
"We call on the government to act immediately to bring here the workers who have already (been) approved and to create a fast-track (process) for the approval and flight of the workers. The delay in the arrival of the workers from India and Sri Lanka hurts all concerned," it had said.
Netanyahu during a telephonic conversation with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in December last year had discussed advancing the arrival of Indian workers to Israel.
Besides those from India and Sri Lanka, a group of about 7,000 workers have come from China and around 6,000 from Eastern Europe.
Israeli Minister of Economy Nir Barkat, during his trip to India in April last year had spoken to officials and his counterpart in Delhi, about hiring Indians in various sectors, including in the construction sector. The discussions had revolved around bringing in almost 1,60,000 people.
There are about 18,000 Indians working in Israel, mostly as caregivers. Most of them decided to stay back in Israel during the war because "they felt quite secure" and "also because the salaries are quite attractive".
Israel and India also inked an agreement in May last year during then Foreign Minister Eli Cohen's visit to Delhi to allow 42,000 Indians to work in the Jewish state in fields of construction and nursing, a move that was then seen to help deal with the rising cost of living and assist thousands of families waiting for nursing care.
A statement released by the Israeli Foreign Ministry then had said 34,000 workers will be engaged in the construction sector and another 8,000 for nursing needs.
In the last six months, about 800 workers from India have also joined the agricultural sector in Israel.
The Government Press Office in a statement said, "Pursuant to a directive from the prime minister, intensive staff work -- led by Prime Minister's Office Director General Yossi Shelly -- was carried out in order to facilitate a large increase in the quantity of foreign workers in Israel, lower the cost of living and significantly reduce the bureaucracy and friction between it and the business sector while improving supervision and oversight of the employment of foreign workers and safeguarding of their rights."
Following discussions, Netanyahu instructed that a decision on the issue be submitted to the government next week.
This decision will determine the scope of foreign workers in Israel and an adjustment mechanism in case of severe unemployment in the economy that would affect the employment of Israelis, the statement said.
"It was also determined that the government will authorise a committee of director generals, chaired by the PMO director general to allocate the quota between the various branches of the economy according to the need raised by government ministries from economic officials," it said, amid gaining chorus from various sectors of the economy regarding shortage of workers.
The minister of finance, interior, welfare and social affairs, and construction and housing, the cabinet secretary and PMO officials were among those who attended in the discussions
Officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, economy, interior, justice, transportation, labour, and housing and construction, the National Economic Council and the Agriculture and Population and Immigration Authority also participated.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
