The Labor and Welfare Committee of the Knesset approved the agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the National Insurance Institute according to which unemployed evacuees who have exhausted their entitlement to unemployment benefits will receive an alternative monthly grant. After the end of the evacuation, eligibility for grants will continue between 30 and 90 days.
The amount of the grant will be determined according to the amount of daily unemployment benefits paid to the evacuee in the last eligibility month for which he was entitled, multiplied by the number of days he was not employed that month, excluding Saturdays and holidays. The committee demanded that the agreement be valid until August, instead of until the end of March with the possibility of an extension, to give certainty to the evacuees. Evacuees over the age of 67 who were employed before the evacuation will also be entitled to grants.
The agreement also defines the adjustment period for the evacuees. From the moment the government decides on the full return of the residents to the cities or settlements that were evacuated, the evacuees will continue to be entitled to receive the grants for an additional 30 days. If it is decided on a gradual return to the settlement, the entitlement will be extended to 90 days.
Gili HaCohen, employment referent in the budget division of the Ministry of Finance: “With a gradual return, it may be that some residents and business owners have not returned, some services are not yet active. In such a situation, the ability to find work is more complex, and therefore the adjustment period is longer.”
The details of the agreement indicate that the residents of Sderot, who were allowed to gradually return to their homes from January 1, as well as those from the settlements that were allowed to return fully on February 29, including Zikim, Mefalsim, Raim, Nir Yitzhak, Peri Gan and more, will be entitled to grants until the end March.
Attorney Shlomi Mor from the National Insurance clarified to the committee that the evacuees will receive the grants without the requirement to report to the employment bureau and regardless of other allowances paid to them.
Ofir Yehezkali, Deputy Mayor of Kiryat Shmona, asked to know when the grants are expected to go to the beneficiaries: “There is a great expectation in the area for this thing, people have not received money since January 1st and are waiting for it very much.” The government representatives at the hearing estimated that the funds will be transferred to the beneficiaries from the end of March.
Committee Chairman MK Michal Waldiger (Religious Zionism): “This is a significant and important response for the evacuees and their families. I very much hope that the agreement will be signed today and the grants will be transferred to the beneficiaries as soon as possible.”
