The umbrella organization of employers in Israel, which includes the Manufacturers ‘Association, the Association of Chambers of Commerce and the Israel Farmers’ Association, petitioned the High Court today (Wednesday) against the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance and the Knesset Finance Committee, demanding that employers return NIS 1 billion On the upcoming election day, and will bear the burden of granting the Sabbath to the economy.
Read more in Calcalist:
According to employers, there is no justification for them to continue to fund the fifth election day within two years, which is expected to take place on March 23, after they have already paid NIS 6 billion in election days in the last 4 election campaigns – including local elections. Employers estimate that they pay NIS 1.5 billion in wages for each election campaign, some on vacation days, and some with additional wages due to work on the Sabbath.
Ron Tomer, president of the Manufacturers Association Photo: Dana Koppel
The petition, filed by Adv. Gideon Fischer, Adv. Eitan Berkowitz and Dr. Matan Gutman, states that “Employers, including tens of thousands of small businesses that are in a constant daily war for survival, are the ones who are required to pay for the ‘public product’ of exercising the right. Democratic vote. This election campaign imposes an unbearable heavy burden on them, which is expected to deepen the human toll on the entire private sector. ”
The petitioners further note that “the legislature that decades ago established the obligation of employers in the economy to pay employees for Election Day did not assume that there would ever be such a unique and extreme accumulation of circumstances as exists at this time. The Corona crisis has changed many legal arrangements And adapted it to a crisis reality that was unprecedented in the history of the state, such as in the field of social security, payment of unemployment benefits, granting grants to businesses, release of provident funds without tax, etc. Our position now has a legal obligation on the government to formulate a plan forIndemnification Employers “.
Chairman of the Presidency of Employers and Businesses and President of the Manufacturers Association, Ron Tomer: “We can not sit on the sidelines and continue to absorb and be harmed, and therefore everything will be done to change the situation. “The state should bear the cost of the Sabbath and allow businesses to concentrate on surviving and stimulating the economy.”
Uriel Lynn Photo: Itzik Binyonsky Uriel Lynn, president of the Association of Chambers of Commerce, noted that “employers have already contributed their share to the integrity of democracy in four election campaigns within two and a half years. “Freedom, since Election Day has long since ceased to be a holiday. A legislator who believes that Election Day should be a day off from work should himself fund his generous approach.”
The Secretary General of the Israel Farmers’ Association, Avshalom Villan: “A fourth election campaign, and perhaps a little over a fifth, imposes an impossible burden on the farming community, and goes against all basic economic logic. The state must bear the costs of this day, and it must not fall on the farmers. Only this week we were able to extend the exemption for the levy on the employment of foreign workers, a decree that would have collapsed about 20% of the farmers in the country. This is a period in which the State of Israel must preserve its farmers – and not harm them. “