The agreement, signed on Wednesday, changes nurses’ working conditions based on the shifting needs of Israeli hospitals, while protecting the nurses’ wages. In hospital departments where the agreement will be implemented, nurses will work 12-hour shifts to ensure complete separation between nurses working on each shift and reduce the chance of transmission.
The new agreement releases healthcare facilities from previous restrictions on nurses’ shifts, allowing them to schedule 12-hour shifts. The longer shifts will ensure that nurses in each ward won’t come into contact with healthcare workers from other shifts, reducing the risk of transmission to both patients and staff—and without coming at the cost of the nurses’ earnings.
The agreement was signed by the Commissioner of Wages and Labor Agreements in the Ministry of Treasury, Kobi Bar Nathan, the chair of the Histadrut Arnon Bar-David, and the chair of the National Nurses' Union Ilana Cohen.
Cohen commented when the agreement was signed that "Nurses are at the forefront of the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic today, and are working day and night to provide proper treatment to the Israeli public. The agreement allows hospital staff to minimize their risk of infection ,but it also means that their wages won’t suffer as a result of these new policies.“
Cohen promised that the union will “continue to work to ensure that nurses who are quarantined or hospitalized in the course of their work with COVID19 patients will be paid their regular wages." She thanked all the nurses in the healthcare system for their tireless work on behalf of Israeli citizens.
Arnon Bar-David, chair of the Histadrut, commented when the agreement was signed that "nurses are doing holy work and they are at the forefront [of the epidemic] day and night. It is very important to support healthcare workers, especially during times of crisis. I want to thank the chair of the National Nurses’ Union, Ilana Cohen, and Commissioner of Wages Kobi Bar Natan for their dedication, which allowed us to push this new agreement through.”
Commissioner of Wages Kobi Bar Nathan said when the agreement was signed: "In times like these, it is more important than ever to make sure that medical staff can continue to operate as required to provide medical care, as well as to provide job security for those healthcare workers. I want to thank Ilana Cohen and Arnon Bar David for their hard work that led to this vital agreement during this crisis, and I would also like to express my support for all the nurses who treat the patients round-the-clock. "
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Brought to press with the help of the International Relations Division of the Histadrut