Wisconsin plan to be closely scrutinize
צילום: סי די בנק
Comptroller to scrutinize Wisconsin Plan
Knesset committee recommends State Comptroller takes closer look at controversial program aimed at fighting unemployment
The Knesset's State Control Committee decided Tuesday to refer the Wisconsin Plan to fight unemployment to the State Comptroller for examination.
The plan, which originated in the United States, aims to train "chronically unemployed" people in a bid to help them integrate into the job market.
The Committee convened Tuesday for a special meeting during the parliament's recess term, on the request of Knesset Member Yuri Shtern (National Union) and in light of the harsh public criticism that has been leveled at the program recently.
State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss, who attended the meeting, said he accepts the committee's recommendation and intends to look into the plan.
"The Wisconsin Plan is extremely important," committee Chairwoman Meli Polishook-Bloch (Shinui) said. "The government has invested NIS 80 million in the plan, while the quality of its results is unclear. The program does not deal with high-quality training of employees, but rather with low-level job training," she said.
Polishook-Bloch claimed there is an inherent defect in the Wisconsin Plan: "The profits of the private companies involved with the program depend on the number of stipends they save for the government, not the number of new jobs they create. I have a feeling the plan does not answer all the problems it should, and that it therefore needs to be thoroughly scrutinized," she added.
Polishook-Bloch's words appeared to be the consensus at the meeting, and other committee members were quick to agree with the criticism. "The Wisconsin Plan represents a shocking violation of the state's commitment to its citizens," MK Shtern said, adding there was no satire show on television good enough to describe what goes on in this plan.
MK Marina Solodkin (Kadima) on her part called the plan "an ongoing disgrace," while MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) stated the state should examine whether the government used the law in this case as a tool to undermine weaker segments of society.
'Any job is better than unemployment'
The Wisconsin Plan can make a difference in the country and return people on stipends back to the job market, head of the Wisconsin Plan at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor said in response to the charges.
"Any job is better than unemployment and living on government stipends. The companies that operate the plan get a bonus only for people who get a long-term job at the end of the training course, and therefore they have an interest in taking responsibility for these people," Dorit Novak claimed.
"I know of no other governmental service that gives such a caring and sympathetic treatment as these companies," she added.
Meanwhile, social organizations in Israel lauded the decision to scrutinize the plan, saying the Wisconsin Plan constituted "a total shirking of responsibility on the part of the State when it comes to Israel's weakest segments of society."
