Jordan-Valley2-CC-BY-Garry-WalshPetition to revoke the regulation that prevents immigrants and Palestinians from accessing the Labour Court
Attorneys Michal Tadjer (Kav LaOved – Worker’s Hotline), Sawsan Zaher (Adalah), Roni Peli and Oded Feller (ACRI)
On 8 September 2016, ACRI, Adalah and Kav LaOved petitioned the High Court of Justice to revoke a regulation approved by the Minister of Justice, Ayelet Shaked. The regulation prescribes that a worker who is not Israeli (i.e. a Palestinian, migrant or asylum seeker), who files a suit in the Labor Court, will be required to pay a deposit at the beginning of the procedure to guarantee the payment of their employer’s expenses.
The petition claims that the Minister of Justice’s decision was based on political and unrelated factors. According to media reports, the true intention of the regulation is to harm Palestinians workers who apparently turn to Labor Courts often in order to exercise their rights. Behind this regulation are several routine, work-related lawsuits, submitted by Palestinian workers regarding violations of their rights in relation to agricultural work done for Israeli employers, in settlements in the Jordan Valley.
The petition argues that the regulation was passed without authority; and even if there had been property authority, the regulation’s infringement of the rights of the most disadvantaged workers reflects an improper purpose. In the event that there was a proper purpose, the petition argues that the violation of human rights is disproportionate. The Court was asked to give an interim order prohibiting the operation of the regulation until the petition is decided. The Court ordered the State to respond to the request by mid-October.
Please click here to access the Petition in Hebrew.
