Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., February 10, 2010 Shvat 26, 5770 | | Israel Time: 09:44 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books Haaretz Store
Share |
Last update - 01:40 27/08/2001
NGO to protest Israel's treatment of foreign workers at Durban conference
By Ruth Sinai
 

A delegation from Kav LeOved, a non-profit association that promotes the rights of foreign workers, left Israel yesterday to attend the World Conference Against Racism in Durban. The organization plans to sharply criticize Israel's treatment of foreign workers at the WCAR.

Meanwhile, 270 Chinese construction workers employed by Solel Boneh are protesting withholding of their salaries and confiscation of their passports at Kav LeOved's Tel Aviv offices. Some of the Chinese employees are on strike.

The Chinese construction workers have filed a complaint with the police, alleging that their passports were taken from them in violation of the law. They also filed a complaint with the Labor Ministry, alleging that they had not received their salaries.

The Chinese workers said that they had paid $1,500 in China to come work in Israel. When they arrived, representatives of the Chinese company took their passports away from them so that they would not be able to access funds Solel Boneh had deposited in their bank accounts. They said that once a month a representative of the Chinese company would accompany them to the bank and give them their passports so they could draw money. But, they claimed, the representative would leave them with only $100 and then take their passports back.

Kav LeOved is demanding that Solel Boneh ensures that the Chinese company through which it employs construction workers adhere to Israeli law and allow the workers full access to their wages.

"Israel's treatment of foreign workers is humiliating," said Hannah Zohar, the director of Kav LeOved. Just because they are not Israeli citizens they are exploited and their basic human needs are ignored, she added.

Treatment of foreign labor will be one of the main themes of the Durban conference. Kav Leoved plans to distribute material showing how Israel allegedly violates the international convention on foreign workers to which it is party
PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Wiesel's petition
Nobel winner says he wouldn't cry if Ahmadinejad were killed , and has signed on it.
Heckling Michael Oren
Muslim students scream 'killer' during Israeli envoy's lecture at the University of California.
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Shalom Hartman Institute Jerusalem
This Summer in Jerusalem Learn about the "Other". Special Prices Until Feb. 15
100% Pure Dead Sea Salt
Lowest price in the U.S.A. for genuine Dead Sea Salts
Online forex trading now with
the security of a Swiss bank
Best Passover Vacations Under the Sun in Florida, Arizona, Mexico.
Resort Vacations. All the traditions of Passover. Glatt Kosher
Your Aliyah starts here.
Nefesh B'Nefesh Aliyah Workshops and Personal Meetings in your area
Camp Kimama Israel - Summer 2010
An incredible experience with Jewish youth from all over the world
 Haaretz Hot Topics
Exclusive: EU draft on dividing Jerusalem
Gilad Shalit
Settlement Freeze
Iran nuclear program
More Headlines
09:41 Report: Iran says nuclear deal 'still on the table'
09:20 Lebanese PM: We will stand united against Israeli threat
03:25 Israel: Gaza crossing to stay shut as long as Hamas in power
08:28 Defense Minister and IDF chief clash over Ashkenazi's future
08:29 Like Netanyahu, Barak wants second shot as prime minister
04:55 Israeli-Palestinian peace would neutralize Iran threat
08:30 Israeli academics: Reject university status for settlement college
02:31 TV ROUND-UP: West promises Iran sanctions, Violence breaks out in East Jerusalem
02:42 Israel strikes Gaza in response to Qassam rockets
03:23 Suspected Jewish terrorist admits to anti-missionary activities
05:10 Family says Israeli man died after hospital staff ignored doctor's note
06:41 Environmental protection chief: State is Israel's biggest polluter
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved