The ministry's invitation to the event
Labor Min. sets employee getaway, party on Rabin Memorial Day
Ministry of Labor sets employee recreational day including 'educational tour' of Dead Sea, party on same date as Rabin Memorial Day; when employees complain, management makes attendance mandatory; 'Nothing educational about it. It looks and feels wrong,' says aggrieved employee.
Employees of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services bristled at a decision made by the ministry's management to organize a recreational activity day for the ministry's Labor Division employees during the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day, held this year on November 1, and to make attendance mandatory.
The event, dubbed an "educational tour" by the ministry, included a trip in the Dead Sea area combining various leisure activities, and even a party.
The Ministry of Labor set an employee recreational day on the same date as the memorial day for slain Prime Minister Rabin (Photo: Yaakov Saar, GPO)
After employee reaction to the planned event was somewhat tepid, among other reasons due to the selected date, management announced participation would be mandatory and any employee wishing to skip the day must convey a detailed request for their absence. In addition, exemptions will only be provided by the ministry's director-general.
The ministry defined the two-day trip as a "unique educational tour to the Dead Sea region, emphasizing getting acquainted with Israel, its vistas and its history and a fun team-building itinerary."
"There's nothing educational about it. I don't think a government ministry should hold an upbeat, fun event on the Rabin Memorial Day. It looks and feels wrong. People in the office talked about it, it's not like it flew under their radar and nobody noticed," said one of the employees protesting the recreational day's timing.
"A lot of people said they didn't want to go, and then they notified attendance was mandatory, so I realized I had no choice. It's a slain prime minister. It hasn't been 25 years yet and we're already celebrating over his grave. It's improper and unpleasant. Why not move it to a different day?" he wondered.
The ministry's invitation
The state-sanction Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day, for the prime minister murdered by an assassin in 1995, is commemorated by law in schools while Israeli flags fly at half mast in all state institutions.
Chairman of the ministry's employees' union Yoni Abuhatzeira, who organized the recreational day, said, "This is a work day that includes an educational tour. Employee requests to not participate for whatever reason will be taken under consideration."
