Protesting social workers storm Jerusalem
After six weeks of sanctions yield no results, outraged social workers rally outside Finance Ministry, call for 'Winograd Commission for welfare'
Hundreds of social workers from every corner in Israel gathered outside the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on Tuesday afternoon to protest their unmanageable workload, saying the lack of manpower was crippling the welfare system.
The workers have resorted to various sanctions over the past six weeks, yet their struggle has failed to produce any results.
"It's impossible for us to look at our clients in the eye because the caseload for each social worker is so immense we are unable to provide adequate service to every client, something they deserve and we are desperate to give," said chairman of the Social Worker's Union, Itzik Perry.
"The government that proclaimed after being sworn in that it would be a government of compassion has become a deaf and blind government that abandons society's weaker groups and leaves them without the
tools, resources or manpower to face the harsh challenges of Israeli society."
Maya Anush, a social worker from Tel Aviv who handles some 400 cases, said the impossible load often leads to clients who fall through the cracks. "Despite our drive to accomplish everything, we're too busy putting out fires. I expect the government to understand that the elderly people we are helping today could be their parents tomorrow or they themselves the day after that," she said.
