The National, December 19, 2009
Over two dozen Thai laborers have spent the last three weeks in the custody of Israeli authorities. But they are not under arrest. Following a complaint on their behalf from Kav LaOved, an Israeli NGO that advocates for foreign workers, immigration police freed the laborers from conditions that some critics liken to slavery.
The 28 men were employed on a farm in the south of Israel, within sight of Gaza. There, despite the fact that Israeli labor law mandates all employees receive at least 36 hours of rest a week, they were forced to work seven days a week—even during wartime.
Speaking to The National through a translator and under the condition of anonymity, six of the men discuss their experiences of Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli offensive against Gaza that occurred last winter. “We could see the rockets during the war—one dropped 50 meters away from the farm—but we were not allowed to stop working,” says Sak, 36.
“We were scared,” he continues. “But our employer said, ‘don’t worry, go to work.'”
According to Sak and the other men, when the air raid siren sounded their boss went to the bomb shelter and took his dogs along, leaving them behind in open fields.
Although the men consider this one of the most insulting and dehumanizing aspects of their treatment, their employer is currently under investigation not for his actions during Operation Cast Lead but for the conditions his workers suffered daily.
Their case comes in the wake of Kav LaOved’s recent report, “Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Israel.” Israel is home to almost half a million migrant laborers, 30,000 of who are employed in agriculture. Ironically, farming was once considered a cornerstone of Israel’s foundation.
Tally Kritzman, an Israeli expert on foreign labor, comments, “Agricultural work was fulfillment of the Zionist dream—it connects with the land [Israelis] fought so hard for. Back in the 1940s and 50s, it was one of the most highly admired jobs.”
But today, working the land is no longer revered. Kav LaOved’s publication states that those employed in agriculture—a sector that is dominated by Thai laborers—are subject to “wide and systematic exploitation” and face “complete abandonment by government authorities.” According to the publication, the Thai are “the most exploited of all workers.”
The laborers interviewed by The National report that they were paid approximately 13 NIS (approximately 3 US dollars) an hour—far below the legal minimum wage of 20.70 (approximately 5 US dollars) an hour. And in addition to their contracted duties of tending to the agriculture, their employer used them as domestic help—they washed cars, cleaned houses, and worked as handymen—without compensation.
During the little time they had for themselves, they were not allowed to leave the farm. The men were required to purchase food and other basic goods at a “shop” set up for them by their employer’s daughter-in-law. She charged higher prices than those in nearby stores and monitored their spending.
“We had to buy there or we would get in trouble,” Patch, 35, says.
The threat of punishment, in the form of deportation or salary deductions, loomed large. All of the men were deep in debt to black market lenders in Thailand. Each had borrowed the 400,000 baht (approximately 10,000 US dollars) manpower agencies charge to find them work in Israel—despite the fact that Israeli law allows only a 3276 NIS (about 800 US dollars) mediation fee.
Kessie Gonen, a Kav LaOved caseworker and translator, comments on the impact of carrying such a heavy debt, “The biggest fear of the Thai worker is to be sent back to Thailand. It’s like a death sentence.” Wages are not high enough in Thailand to pay back loans, Gonen explains. Because the little property they own in Thailand has often been used as collateral, non-payment of the debt means that the worker and his family could end up homeless.
And the wages they were sending home from Israel were already thinned by their boss, who charged them rent although the shelter he provided—one bare 10-square-meter room for every four men—fell far below the state’s regulations.
“The roof leaked. The water came up to here when it rained,” Sak says pointing to his calf muscles. He adds that cockroaches, rats, and “anything that can move” entered their living quarters.
Because the workers, like most Thai laborers, lived in rural areas scattered throughout Israel, far from public transportation, they were unable to move about freely. And their employer, to assure they would stay put, illegally confiscated their passports on the day they arrived.
The men faced additional isolation. Lacking both Hebrew and English, they couldn’t communicate with the Israelis around them.
Tom Mehager, Kav LaOved’s Thai workers coordinator, explains that their physical and social isolation make Thai migrant laborers ripe for exploitation, “The other groups who have better English fare better.”
“Another way they differ from other groups is that they don’t have a community here,” Mehager says. When foreign workers from India, Nepal, or the Philippines, for example, “need to leave an employer or come [to Kav LaOved] to get help, they will have somewhere to sleep and will have translators.”
Lacking a community to lean on, Thai workers tend to rely on their employers and the manpower agencies that arranged their jobs. “They believe that their employers will take care of them. This makes them very vulnerable,” Mehager remarks.
Kav LaOved has found that the manpower agencies tend to side with the farmers, who receive the government-issued permits that allow the agencies to import workers and make a profit.
This focus on the bottom line is what creates trouble for Thai workers. “In any area that the farmer can save money, you will find problems,” Mehager says. Most of the complaints Kav LaOved receives involve underpayment, excessive hours, and poor accommodations.
There have also been reports of injuries resulting from working with machinery and chemicals without safety gear, including severe respiratory problems from spraying pesticides without adequate masks.
Sak, 45, and Dan, 39, have spent the past six months in the protective custody of the state. They are two of a dozen Thai workers who were removed from a farm in south central Israel at the behest of Kav LaOved. They faced 20-hour work days and wages far below the minimum. Sak developed rashes and boils on his hands and arms from the preservatives he had to apply to vegetables—his employer provided him with short, flimsy gloves that did not adequately protect his skin.
Although Sak’s hands have healed and both men managed to pay off their loans before leaving the farm, they remain concerned about the fate of other migrant laborers.
“We want to see this kind of situation improve,” Sak says. “We want the government to come take a look at [the conditions on] the farms.”
It is a sentiment widely shared by both Thai workers and Kav LaOved.
Mehager says that Kav LaOved reports all labor law violations to the Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor. But, according to Mehager, MOITAL doesn’t have translators. “They do investigations without collecting testimony from the workers… the farmers’ lawyer will be able to attack this.”
Although Kav LaOved notes in its report “the commendable willingness” of the enforcement unit in Israel’s south, the NGO maintains that MOITAL isn’t doing enough. “All we’re demanding,” Mehager says, “is according to law.”
Meir Shpigler, attorney for MOITAL’s foreign worker unit, states “Every month we open 80 cases against employees” who are accused of violating the rights of migrant laborers in all sectors of employment. Just yesterday, Shpigler remarks, 4 cases were open that involve possible violations against Thai workers. “We are putting a lot of effort towards ensuring that all the foreign workers are getting all of their rights.”
But Shpigler acknowledges that enforcement remains a problem. “It’s a small unit and we’re are doing our best to enforce the laws. It’s not very easy. When we conduct an investigation, we have to prove [that the violations occurred] beyond a reasonable doubt. And we have to give the employer a chance to contest [the allegations].”
Because their resources are limited, Shpigler explains, sometimes the enforcement unit must choose who they investigate at the expense of letting some cases go. “The truth is if we get information about an employer or a manpower agency that has 300 workers but has only one complaint– we’re not putting aside but we’re not giving it first priority.”
*Photo courtesy of Karin Magen