Hundreds of thousands will not receive unemployment benefits for June

The Finance Ministry has decided that it will not extend the eligibility period for unemployment benefits, meaning that some 292,000 people will not receive the benefits, together with unemployed people over the age of 67 who are not eligible for the benefits, Walla reported Friday morning.

The Finance Ministry prefers encouraging employment, rather than paying the unemployed. Chairman of the Histadrut, the General Organization of Workers in Israel, Arnon Bar-David, stated that a solution must be found: "People need an income."

The Finance Ministry's decision not to extend the eligibility period for June means that hundreds of thousands of currently unemployed people will not receive unemployment benefits for June. Eligibility periods last between 50-175 days and are determined according to age. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Finance Ministry extended the period of eligibility up until now, but has apparently decided to stop doing so. 

Israel's National Insurance Institute has also stated that unemployed people over the age of 67, who were eligible for unemployment benefits between March and May, will probably not receive any benefits for June. 

While many businesses have recently reopened, unemployment in Israel remains high, with about one million unemployed. In a letter sent by Bar-David to Finance Minister Israel Katz, Bar-David reportedly asked Katz to extend the period of eligibility for unemployment benefits as well as arranging a better model for unpaid leave. According to the Histadtrut, new working places will not be available any time soon. "There are thousands of people who need to be able to plan their sources of income" Bar-David said.     

In the letter, Bar-David also states that "a creative solution is needed, one that will combine both temporary, limited employment with unemployment benefits in the private sector." He added that "such a model has been very successful in OECD countries, and the European Union has formed a policy of granting significant loans to member states that will adapt such models." 

The Histadrut has sent similar letters to the Finance Ministry in the past, attempting to extend the eligibility period but was ignored.