Employment Service chairman Shraga Brosh agreed on Wednesday to freeze the implementation of the “Ma’agalei Avoda” privatized welfare-to-work plan at the Labor, Welfare and Health Committee. The delay gives the committee or the Knesset time to hold comprehensive discussions on the proposed plan, in addition to providing increased budgets and jobs for Employment Service. In conjunction with the meeting, Workers’ Union chairman Ofer Levy announced an end to the sanctions imposed this past week and said Employment Service workers, who refused to answer phones and canceled public visiting hours, would return to work.

A demonstration against Wisconsin Plan (Photo: Al-Ittihad)

The welfare-to-work plan, dubbed Wisconsin 2, is a national and privatized unemployment program aimed at ensuring that “unemployment beneficiaries receive active assistance in searching for jobs, or receive training to acquire the necessary skills to integrate into the workforce.” Employment Service employees protested the plan amid complaints that they were not consulted on it by the Finance and Economy Ministries and that the proposal will drive unemployment benefit recipients from the Employment Service to private entrepreneurs.