Many foreign workers left due to the war • The patients' families report an accumulation of difficulties

(haipo) - About 2000 foreign workers left the country following the war, which raised the fear that there will be a real shortage of foreign workers in Israel, and thus many families will find themselves without the daily assistance and care their loved ones need.

At the same time, family members of patients report that while they face the difficulty of the employee's sudden departure and try in every way to recruit another employee and as quickly as possible, they encounter frustrating bureaucracies and piling up illogical difficulties, according to them. The Population Authority refutes the claims of a lack of workers and points out that the only industry that was almost unharmed during the war is the nursing industry.

claim that there is a shortage"

S., a resident of Haifa, tells Lahi Fe about the frustrating situation she found herself in when the worker who cared for her father announced that he was leaving Israel because of the war: "With the outbreak of the war, the foreign worker who cares for my 83-year-old father, who suffers from dementia, announced his departure. We contacted the office responsible for Recruitment and we received an answer that there is a shortage of foreign workers.

By chance, S met a foreign worker who had just finished her job due to the death of the person she was caring for, and she had the employment permit. S. was happy and informed the office that she was interested in hiring the nanny, then it became clear that she was facing a complicated and cumbersome bureaucratic process. It turns out that a foreign worker receives a visa for 7 years, but in the event of the patient's death, he must issue a new visa and a new employment permit.

S says: "My brother and I, who are helping me deal with the matter of renewing the nanny's employment permit, tried to issue her a new visa, but we were met with opacity and lack of consideration, since both the nanny's office and the immigration bureau refused to approve the employment permit on the grounds that the worker had finished her visa period and needed to be recruited New employee. Not to mention the fact that in the office that handles all the paperwork, documents and employee recruitment, even though I myself arranged and took care of the employee's recruitment, they demanded 2000 NIS from me for her recruitment, even though, as mentioned, they did not help with the recruitment at all.

But then S found out that the "surprises" were not over yet, at this stage she was required not only to take care of the approval of the deal, but also to inform her that her father had to take a dependency test again, even though he had already been diagnosed as demented and was found to be entitled to a nursing care provider.

S tells painfully that it is a well-known fact that there is no way to recover from dementia, but on the contrary, as time goes by, it deteriorates and the situation only gets worse. "I wish they would give me back a father who functions and doesn't need nursing help, that's my dream, if that were possible I'd be the happiest in the world. But when they tell me they want to do a dependency test again, when his diagnosis is in front of their eyes, it's jarring and painful. I've never met such a system Opaque and inconsiderate of me.

S's story is just one of many accepted in the system. Families say that it takes months to organize and recruit an employee, and now, during the war, the situation is even more difficult, and they often get the feeling that their plight is being taken advantage of by certain parties who value unnecessary difficulties, when the situation they found themselves in is full of difficulty and pain anyway.

As mentioned, the claim that there is a shortage of foreign workers due to the war was rejected by the Population and Immigration Authority, which stated that the only industry that was almost unaffected was the nursing industry.

The Population and Immigration Authority informed Hai Pa:
First, it will be clarified that the only branch that was almost unscathed, to our joy, is the nursing branch, where the foreign workers proved their dedication and loyalty to the patients and remained by their side despite the situation. Therefore, it is not clear on what basis the assertions mentioned here, which have no facts to rely on, were established. Already on the morning of October 7th, and even before the dire situation in the country was known, the Authority published information for the foreign workers, including instructions for the nursing care workers to maintain their personal safety and the safety of the nursing patients.
Later, circulars were published that make it easier for the industries in which the foreign workers are employed, including the nursing industry in particular. Also, the authority decided to extend the deadline for submitting applications in the nursing sector (Circular No. 16/2023). The Authority also decided that the employment of foreign workers staying illegally in nursing homes and geriatric institutions for a fixed period will not be enforced, published a letter of support for foreign workers in Israel and a reference to instructions in their language, to maintain their safety, visits by foreign workers who were injured or ill, visits by foreign workers who were evacuated together with their employers, Setting up a telephone helpline in different languages, easing the examination of unusual requests and many other actions. In light of the above, we reject the accusation that there is a lack of sensitivity and opacity in the authority and that we pile difficulties on the caregivers and nursing patients. These statements indicate a lack of knowledge in everything that is done on the subject.