Construction Industry Leaders Urge Government to Halt Bilateral Recruitment of Foreign Workers

Following the Population and Immigration Authority’s announcement that it will conduct tests in early December for approximately 1,000 Sri Lankan workers under the bilateral recruitment track, the Association of Foreign Construction Companies has issued an urgent appeal to halt the process, claiming the mechanism has “failed repeatedly” and is harming Israel’s construction sector.

Adv. Yair David, representing the association, sent an urgent letter to the Director General of the Population Authority demanding an immediate freeze of the bilateral recruitment scheme, arguing that the model—activated since the outbreak of the Iron Swords War—has brought medically unfit and unskilled workers into Israel.

Association: Bilateral Track “Has Completely Failed”

According to David, the bilateral model has consistently produced poor outcomes:

“Workers who arrive through the bilateral scheme lack basic medical fitness, experience, and essential construction skills. They cannot integrate into the industry,” he wrote.

David added that attempts to revive what he called a “failed recruitment mechanism” raise “serious questions” about the motivations behind the continued push for the program.

“It is very sad that the Israeli public is paying taxes only to bear the consequences of failed recruitments,”
he said.

 

Eldad Nitzan, Chairman of the Association of Foreign Construction Companies, sharply criticized the Population Authority’s bilateral mechanism:

“The mechanism causes cumulative damage. It requires permanent staff, international travel, logistics and overseas screenings—costing the state more than NIS 5 million,”
Nitzan said.

He added that over 70% of foreign workers brought in via the bilateral track eventually desert contractors and work illegally in other sectors, leaving the construction industry with severe workforce shortages.

Private Recruitment Route Shows Higher Success 

Industry representatives contrasted the bilateral failures with what they describe as the success of private-sector recruitment.

According to the association:

• 95% of the 50,000 foreign workers brought in over the past two years through the private route are fully employed in construction.

• Contractors report high satisfaction with workers recruited privately.

• The private model has proven to be “the most professional and high-quality recruitment method.”

Call for Abandoning the Bilateral System

Nitzan urged the government to scrap the bilateral mechanism entirely:

“The time has come to abandon the old, failed model. The private recruitment path is the only one capable of supplying the additional 40,000 skilled foreign workers urgently needed by the construction industry.”

He warned that inexperienced officials overseeing the bilateral scheme lack the capabilities to identify and recruit skilled labor:

“Today, every worker is vital. We cannot allow inexperienced officials who don’t understand the industry to manage the recruitment of skilled workers.”