Shalom approves permits for Jordanians to work in Eilat hotels
"The workers agreement with Jordan is a suitable solution that all sides will benefit from," says Shalom.
By NIV ELISUpdated: JULY 6, 2015 20:04Silvan Shalom(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Interior Minister Silvan Shalom approved a plan to allow Eilat hotels to hire Jordanian workers, helping to fill a labor shortage in the southern resort town."The workers agreement with Jordan is a suitable solution that all sides will benefit from: the hotels in Eilat and the workers themselves. Beyond the tourism aspect, this is a step that can benefit and contribute to ties between the two countries," Shalom said , according to The Jerusalem Post's sister paper Maariv.The plan, which was approved by the government last June, will take place in three stages, each of which will approve 500 Jordanians for work in Israel.The permits will for daily use, and require the permit holders to commute across the border each day, and will open opportunities for jobs available will be mostly in cleaning, dish-washing and housekeeping.Eilat Mayor Meir Itzhak Halevy welcomed the decision, but added that he hoped a permanent solution would be reached on foreign workers."I would have been happy to employ Israeli workers, but over a long period of time we could not recruit Israeli workers, despite the wide basket of benefits the hotels and Israel's government offered," he said in a written statement.