Work-Related Deaths in Israel — Twice as High as EU Average

The rate of work-related deaths in Israel is among the highest in Western capitalist countries, twice that of the European Union average according to the findings of a new report released by the Economics Ministry and the National Insurance Institute. In 2015, 54 laborers died in work accidents – 34 of them on construction sites – and over 50,000 workers were injured. Most of the construction workers who died (21) fell to their deaths.

According to a report published in the daily newspaper Haaretz, 15 workers died in work-related accidents during the first quarter of 2016. Furthermore, the Haaretz article indicates that the Economy Ministry has found that in half of these cases, no sanctions were imposed on the contractors involved following the deaths of their workers. In 2015, the National Insurance Institute paid over NIS 4.5 billion to workers as compensation for injuries, amounting to over two million workdays, at a cost of billions of shekels to the national economy, the Economy Ministry said in its report.

A demonstration took place on Saturday, May 14, in the Galilee village of Deir Hanna. Eight construction workers from the village have fallen to their deaths in recent years.

A demonstration took place on Saturday, May 14, in the Galilee village of Deir Hanna. Eight construction workers from the village have fallen to their deaths in recent years. (Photo: Al Ittihad)

In the wake of the rise in the number of workers killed in construction industry accidents, on February 8 this year the Hadash faction in the Histadrut demonstrated outside the Ministry for the Economy demanding the resignation of the minister in charge – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A spokesman for the faction, Itamar Avnery said, “For the government, these workers are invisible: Jewish workers from disadvantaged populations, Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, Palestinians from the West Bank, and foreign workers, most of whom are employed as contract workers. They are workers without protection, without rights!” Last Saturday, another demonstration was held in the Galilee village of Deir Hanna. Eight construction workers from this village have fallen to their deaths in recent years. Among the hundreds of participants in the demonstration were the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Israel, Adel Amer, and members of the Knesset from Hadash.

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