Income of most kibbutz members is lower than the minimum wage

The income of 81.7 percent of kibbutz members is under the minimum wage - some NIS 3,335 a month, according to figures reported by the National Insurance Institute (NII).

Those figures relate to 2004, though since then there has been no significant change in their incomes, and in many cases the situation has only worsened. The figures also include members of moshavim, which also function as collective settlements.

The figures show that in 225 kibbutzim - 72 percent of the total - average wage is lower than minimum wage. Some 5.5 percent of members earn between minimum wage and half the average wage; while only 1.4 percent earn more than 75 percent of the average wage - about NIS 7,000 a month.

These statistics have led the NII to establish a committee to make appropriate changes in the law for the kibbutzim.

The committee has yet to finish its work, but various directions are clear, and the recommendations are now being discussed within the NII and various kibbutz movement institutions.

The changes include switching from an equal rate for all members for NII payments to one based on income and allowing members to collect unemployment and guaranteed income supplements.

In many cases, the NII income figures may represent the situation of the individual member, but not necessarily that of the kibbutz itself, which may have large assets and resources, even while its members earn meager salaries.