Last update - 00:00 11/02/2008
Gov't to cut number of foreign nurses caring for elderly
By Ruth Sinai, Haaretz Correspondent
A government committee is expected to institute stiffer regulations on work permits granted to foreign nurses. The change in policy was discussed after the number of foreign nurses working in Israel jumped by over 17 percent last year.
The number of permits allowing nurses to work in Israel almost doubled in less than five years and now stands at 52,000 people - though the number of senior citizens only slightly increased over the same period of time.
Unless the policy is changed, the government estimates that the number of foreigners working as nurses in Israel will reach 100,000 within five years.
In order to address the issue, the government has established a committee headed by senior Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry official Ephraim Cohen. The committee will comprise representatives from the Health Ministry, National Insurance Institute, the Jewish Distribution Committee, local councils and the Brookdale Institute, a center for applied research on human services.
The committee will review the current criteria which establishes a senior citizen's need for a foreign nurse. Cohen said that some of the elderly can make do with a part-time Israeli nurse and do not need a live-in nurse, a job that Israelis are less likely to do.
The overall number of work permits issued to foreign workers grew in 2007 by 7 percent to 91,641. Work permits quotas for foreign workers at restaurants and factories have been cut to balance the increase in demand for nurses.
In 2008, the number of foreign workers employed in construction will be reduced to 25 percent while the proportion of those working on farms will remain that same at 25 percent, or 26,000 people.