Chairman of the Knesset Committee on Labor, Health and Social Affairs Eli Alaluf ("Kulan") at the first meeting of the commission, which will be held on Tuesday, October 23, will submit for approval a bill to raise the minimum wage from 5000 to 5300 shekels a month.
As the government bill to raise the minimum wage is prepared with the support of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, he will not meet resistance. It is expected that the increase in the minimum wage will come into force as early as December 1, 2017, so that in early 2018 Israelis, who receive a minimum wage, will see an increased amount in their bank accounts.
The agreement on a step-by-step increase in the minimum wage was taken under pressure from the All-Israel Trade Union Association (Histadrut) in March 2015, and in the period from April 2015 to January 2017, the minimum wage increased three times, with the last increase, its size reached 5000 shekels. The fourth increase in the minimum wage is due to the approval of the relevant bill by the Commission on Labor, Health and Social Welfare.
In Israel, 25% of wage earners receive a minimum or less minimum. The increase in the minimum wage goes hand in hand with the reduction in the income tax for low-income workers, the so-called "work premium" ("ma'anak of the Labor") implemented by the Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon, will lead to the welfare of the most needy Israeli families and will support the middle class. Various measures to support working families promoted by Kakhlon have a positive impact on the labor market in Israel: unemployment has for many months kept at a record low, and the proportion of the employed working population is growing.