A authorities fee difficulty that led to tens of hundreds of shekels in wage deductions for reservists employed within the civil service all through 2025 was mentioned on Monday by the Knesset Labor, Welfare, and Well being Committee.
The dialogue was convened after reservists mentioned the deductions have been made following the implementation of a brand new wage mechanism in Could 2025.
Any deduction made was a results of the modification that took impact in Could 2025, the Finance Ministry mentioned. It added that the sum might be returned to affected service members as an advance fee, pending a renewed evaluate of the problem.
Lawyer Michal Ettinger of the Histadrut labor federation referred to as the state of affairs a scandal.
“Dozens of complaints, and extra, have reached us,” she mentioned.
“There’s a large group of [reservist] staff within the Tax Authority whose salaries have been deducted unlawfully. This can be a violation of the regulation, and it’s baffling that the state, as an employer, acts on this method,” she added.
Appearing chair of the committee, MK Sharon Nir (Yisrael Beytenu), sharply criticized the conduct, calling it “a trampling of employees’ rights.”
“This should not occur to any group, and positively to not reserve troopers who left their houses, households, and jobs to repeatedly report for obligation and serve the state,” Nir mentioned.
“They relied on this cash. It’s unacceptable that whereas they’re risking their lives, they return dwelling to find that the State of Israel is harming their livelihood.”
Reservist tells panel serving value tens of hundreds of shekels
A reservist who not too long ago accomplished employment on the State Lawyer’s Workplace informed the panel he served greater than 260 days in reserve obligation and was later knowledgeable {that a} debt of 30,000 shekels had been created in his title.
“The choice to step up and serve the state value me tens of hundreds of shekels,” he mentioned.
“Along with the debt, my unemployment advantages have been decreased by one other 30,000 shekels. I contacted the authorities, Knesset members, and the finance minister. Some didn’t reply in any respect.”
Ofir Tal, from the Affiliation for Reserve Troopers, informed the committee that the brand new wage mechanism was supposed to unravel issues, however “in follow it created chaos.”
“Folks all of a sudden acquired notices about money owed of tens of hundreds of shekels,” Tal continued.
Nir mentioned that she urged the Finance Ministry to conduct a complete evaluate, precisely assess the alleged money owed, and conduct a self-examination of its dealing with of the problem.
“This incident harmed tons of of reservists – folks the state must be thanking and defending, not inserting in monetary misery,” she mentioned.
