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Workers' Hotline reports discrimination against Palestinians

Rights group says Palestinian workers injured on job often ignored by employers, Insurance Institute

The Worker's Hotline has published a report claiming that Palestinian workers are often prevented by Israeli employers from receiving medical treatment for injuries suffered on the job, especially in the field of agriculture.

 

The report was published following a case brought to the hotline's attention, in which five Palestinians fell from a 12-meter high crane in the town of Mesua, in the Jordan Valley. They were evacuated to the Jericho checkpoint and from there were taken to a Palestinian hospital.

 

The Worker's Hotline appealed twice to the township in an effort to get them to sign the insurance forms required for the workers to receive medical coverage, but to no avail. The workers claim that as a result the bills were handed to them, and that they could not afford to pay.

 

The report also claims the National Insurance Institute tends to ignore the bureaucratic obstacles standing in the way of Palestinian workers when they try to file claims. The organization describes a number of cases in which workers were forced to hire private lawyers or drop the claims altogether.

 

"The rights of Palestinian workers are identical to those of foreign workers, and these should be identical to those of Jewish workers, especially when it comes to basic human rights such as health care," Salua Alinat, who is in charge of the Palestinian workers' cases at the Workers' Hotline, told Ynet.

 

"We must ensure that workers who are injured on the job receive primary medical care in Israeli hospitals or clinics. The employers must take responsibility for their employees, as is required by law."

 

The organization claims that employers often transfer Palestinian workers to the West Bank without first providing them with aid, and that they refuse to aid them in filing claims with the NII.

 

The institute responded by stating that no law exists promising Palestinian workers medical treatment in Israel. "A worker from the territories who has an Israeli employer is eligible for treatment in the territories as well, and the health maintenance organization is required to fund the treatment," the statement said.

 


פרסום ראשון: 09.23.09, 08:29
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