Cabinet OKs 2017 minimum wage increase to NIS 5,300
Plan builds on the existing minimum wage law--which will raise the wage from the current NIS 4,650 a month.
By NIV ELISUpdated: NOVEMBER 2, 2015 02:00Shekel money bills(photo credit: REUTERS)
The cabinet on Sunday approved previously agreed plans to raise the minimum monthly wage to NIS 5,300, or NIS 28.5 per hour, by 2017.The plan builds on the existing minimum wage law – which will raise the wage from the current NIS 4,650 a month to NIS 4,825 on July 1, 2016, and to NIS 5,000 on January 1, 201 – by adding another rise to NIS 5,300 on December 1, 2017. The current law raised the rate from NIS 4,300 in April.Economy Minister Arye Deri, who announced his resignation Sunday to allow the government’s gas plan to move forward, said the step would help ensure that working people would not remain below the poverty line.“The situation in which people work and remain poor cannot exist in an enlightened society,” Deri said. “This amendment will give certainty to workers and employers, and I believe it will pull all workers salaries upward.”Last December, in the run-up to the 2015 elections, the government, Histadrut labor federation and Manufacturers Association of Israel agreed to a plan raising the minimum wage gradually to NIS 5,000 from NIS 4,300, which was approved by the government in January. In March, shortly after the election, the Histadrut and MAI agreed to the further NIS 300 increase that was approved on Sunday.Last week, the Histadrut, Economy Ministry and MAI set the groundwork for increasing the minimum number of paid vacation days from 10 to 12 over the course of two years. That decision must still be approved by the cabinet and legislated as well.
