A special governmental committee decided last night to pay special monthly subsidies to jobless Israeli workers starting April 1. The committee decided to make such payments until a national unemployment insurance program was instituted.
The committee did not come to a decision as to the amount of the monthly subsidy nor on details on allocation but it was learned that workers who have been jobless for at least a month and who have no other source of income will be eligible for payments. The allocations mechanism will be worked out by a special technical committee and payments will be made from the regular national budget. The committee will include representatives from the Ministries of Labor and Finance and the Institute of National Insurance.
The decision followed reports of the increasing hardships being suffered by workers who have been jobless for several months. Figures on the current unemployment situation in Israel, stemming from an economic slump, vary. The Labor Ministry has given the total as 30,000. Other sources, including the Central Statistical Office, have offered estimates of twice that number.
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