Businesses in the South will be eligible for state-funded reimbursement only
after they have compensated all their employees who missed work due to rocket
fire during Operation Pillar of Defense.
Representatives of the Treasury,
Israel Tax Authority, Histadrut Labor Federation and Federation of Israeli
Economic Organizations (FIEC), which represents employers, were expecting to
sign the deal after the Knesset Finance Committee approved it
Tuesday.
Full compensation will be granted to: employees who reside
within seven kilometers of the Gaza Strip and were absent from work in
accordance with IDF Home Front Command instructions; parents of children aged 14
and under who reside within 40 km. of Gaza and were forced to stay home
following the Home Front Command’s order to cancel all studies in the
area.
Also Tuesday, the Treasury accepted the Finance Committee’s
proposal to extend tax breaks to those residing within seven km. of Gaza by two
years. A number of towns outside the seven-km. range will also be granted tax
concessions.
Employers will have until March 21 – four months from the
end of Operation Pillar of Defense – to submit reimbursement applications, and
they can expect a Treasury response within 45 days of submission, the Finance
Committee was told.
Residents of the South demonstrated exemplary
behavior during the operation, Beersheba Mayor Reuven Danilovich told the
committee, and requiring them to apply for compensation in such a
“disrespectful” manner would cause them to feel as if they were cheating the
system.
“National resilience means the state must look out for citizens
and businesses that are likely to collapse,” he said. “Eight work days [missed]
is a matter of survival for them. It is vital that the schedule be shortened and
that people not be left hanging.”
Histadrut negotiator Avi Nissenkorn
thanked his counterparts at the Treasury and FIEC in a press statement for their
willingness to enter discussions at the beginning of the eight-day Operation
Pillar of Defense.
“The discussion was quick and to the point, ensuring
that workers and employers in the South receive compensation as quickly as
possible and that they do not suffer a second time,” he said.
Businesses
with production plants in the South lost about NIS 200 million during the
operation, according to the Manufacturers Association of Israel. The data
accounted for lost production from employees who missed work and from
interruptions caused by rocket fire.