Bill calling for minimum wage to soldiers passes initial reading
MK Peretz' proposal to raise soldiers' pay by thousands of shekels passes first reading at Knesset. Finance minister claims bill, estimated to cost some $1.15 billion a year, undermines core values
A bill calling for soldiers performing mandatory military service to be paid a minimum wage of NIS 3,800 per month passed its initial reading in the Knesset Wednesday. forty-one MKs supported the bill and 38 voted against it.
The bill, initiated by former Defense Minister Amir Peretz, passed despite Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On and the government's objections.
According to Peretz, the bill would enable the IDF to appropriately reward soldiers, who grant the state three years of devoted service.
Finance Minister Bar-On, however, claimed that the bill "undermines the values on which we have raised our children, that mandatory service is not carried out in a professional army."
The minister called on the MKs to vote responsibly, taking into consideration the bill's high cost, estimated to reach NIS 4 billion ($1.15 billion), stating that it might come at the expense of badly-needed budgets for strengthening the military.
However, Peretz rejected Bar-On claims, saying that "there is no risk that the soldiers would view the proposed salary as the dominant incentive to serve, because they enlist in order to serve their country."
According to Peretz, the fact that soldiers are discharged from the army without having acquired the necessary skills required in civilian life, obligates the state to compensate them.
