The Labor and Welfare Committee approved regulations that will, for the first time in Israel’s history, require every foreign worker coming to work in Israel's construction industry to undergo eight hours of safety training in their own language. The training will cover risk factors for accidents, such as working at heights, electricity, and scaffolding, and how to prevent them.
Hezi Schwartzman, Director of Safety Administration at the Ministry of Labor, explained to the Committee that the purpose of the amendment is to raise the safety level among foreign workers, whose numbers have increased significantly in recent years, and to reduce the number of accidents that cause several deaths each year.
According to the regulations, safety training for workers should be conducted in person, but there is also the option to do it online—subject to approval by the workplace safety officer. Despite concerns raised in the discussion about the effectiveness and reliability of online training, industry representatives emphasized the importance of having this option—mainly because of the need to tailor the training to the workers’ languages from different countries and because online systems allow for tests and exercises on the material learned. It was also highlighted that online training will be carried out with identification of the trained worker, tracking of their participation, and real-time documentation of the training.
The new regulations will come into effect on October 16, 2026, as a temporary measure for two years, to test their effectiveness. The Histadrut and Kav LaOved (Worker’s Hotline) demanded that even workers who have been in Israel for less than two years be required to undergo training, not just those with less than a year of experience, as was in the draft regulations. Following this demand, it was decided that workers who have been in the country for up to 18 months, or will arrive within three months from the date that the regulation is enacted upon, will need to complete the training required by the regulations within three months from the start of their job, or from their arrival in Israel. After that, any new worker will need to complete the training within one month. However, workers who have been working in Israel for over 18 months won’t need to do the training.
"This change is going to save lives"
After approving the regulations, Histadrut representative Evyatar Hanun thanked Director of Safety Administration and the Committee, saying: "This change is going to save lives, in the construction industry and beyond." However, Hanun reminded that the state had already committed to the Histadrut back in 2018 to require employers to provide basic safety training for all workers in the construction industry, not just for foreign workers. Lawyer Diana Baron from Kav LaOved (Worker’s Hotline) also emphasized that if Palestinian workers return to Israel, the regulations will apply to them as well, and steps will need to be taken to ensure they are implemented.
The committee chair, Knesset Member Michal Waldiger, said: "The regulations create a proper balance between all of our duty to protect the lives and safety of workers and the operational burden placed on the employer. We all hope that every worker who comes to work here will be able to return home safely, and that we won't hear about serious accidents that could perhaps have been prevented."
