Thank you, Mr. Moderator,
Since it is the first time we are taking the floor, we would like to express our gratitude to the co-facilitators and the office of the Secretary-General for the intergovernmental conference for convening this consultation.
We would like as well to thank the panelists for their interesting presentations.
Israel would like to share a practice that is being implemented in Israel.
The Government of the State of Israel has decided in a series of resolutions that the recruitment of foreign workers in low skilled professions will be carried out via bilateral agreements with countries of origin.
Such agreements are aimed at eliminating the illegal collection of excessive intermediary fees which previously had been collected from foreign workers throughout their recruitment process.
This is designed to ensure a transparent, fair and legal recruitment process and include mechanisms reaching that result, such as:
- a widespread recruitment publication which includes information as to which fees may be collected from workers;
- transparent vocational testing (if applicable);
- the random selection of qualified applicants (which reduces incentives for excessive payments of fees);
- a pre-departure orientation for workers in which they receive explanations regarding their rights and obligations;
- a "hotline" to which applicants may call throughout their recruitment process and after arrival in Israel to complain about illegal fee collection, infraction of rights, etc.
These agreements bolster the workers thus making them aware of their rights and freeing them from the burden of debt incurred due to illegal payments of intermediary fees.
We believe that these measures help to improve the governance of migration, while guarantying the rights of the migrant workers.
Thank you.