Israel’s private-sector recovery allowance rises after wage deal

Israel’s Histadrut labor federation and the business sector leadership signed a new agreement on Monday to raise the daily “dmei havra’a” recovery allowance for private-sector workers, after a long freeze and even a cut during wartime budget measures. The rate will increase from 418 shekels to 451.5 shekels per day, adding hundreds of shekels a year for eligible employees.

For example, a worker entitled to 10 recovery days a year will receive about 335 shekels more before tax. In the public sector, the allowance has already been updated in line with the consumer price index and now stands at 511.6 shekels per day, up from 471.4 shekels over the past three years.

Officials estimate that between 2 million and 3 million workers in Israel will benefit from the new private-sector rate. The deal still needs approval by Labor Minister through an extension order, which would apply the arrangement to all workers and employers in the economy.

The agreement follows two years in which workers not only saw no increase in the allowance, but also lost one recovery day each year. That reduction was part of special legislation intended to help fund war expenses and benefits for reserve soldiers. The new deal does not reimburse workers for money lost in previous years, but mainly restores the rate to reflect inflation and the rise in the cost of living. Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David said workers had carried the economic burden of the war for a long time and deserved some of their damaged rights back. Business sector chairman Dovi Amitai said it corrected harm done to private-sector workers in recent years. Recovery pay is an annual extra payment for employees who have completed at least one year with the same employer.