MK blasts state's failure to implement affirmative action law

Ethiopian immigrants have been denied jobs save for employment in the areas of cleaning, maintenance, and security.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Ethiopian Jews 370 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Ethiopian Jews 370
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Yesh Atid MK Pnina Tamnu-Shata criticized government ministries and institutions on Tuesday for failing to adequately integrate immigrants of Ethiopian descent into the public work force.
During a hearing convened by the Knesset’s Committee for Immigration, Absorption, and Diaspora Affairs, Tamnu-Shata said that the public sector has failed to implement a law mandating greater representation for immigrants from Ethiopia.
“It’s a good thing that we have a great color so that we can once again discern who the security guards and cleaners are in the employ of the public sector,” she said.
The Government Companies Authority and the Knesset committee submitted reports indicating that Ethiopian immigrants have been denied jobs save for employment in the areas of cleaning, maintenance, and security.
“Nobody is eager to implement affirmative action laws,” Tamnu-Shata said. “All one needs to do is look at the figures from the Bank of Israel in order to understand that if Ethiopians had a different skin color, they wouldn’t be faced with these obstacles.”