Jalandhar: Waiting for his skill test results, 26-year-old Yogender Singh from Jind district, Haryana, is one among lakhs of candidates who appeared for the Israel government’s recruitment programme for Indian construction workers at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, Haryana. The recruitment was held between January 16 and 21.
For him, the ongoing violence in Israel-Palestine is not a deterrent; rather, it is a golden opportunity to find work and earn Rs 1.37 lakh per month as salary.
“People want to work but there are no jobs here. Even if you get some work, the salaries are too low to even manage basic expenses. What should a common man do? Had there been jobs in India, why would we think of going abroad?” he asked.
The Israel government’s recruitment was conducted by four different agencies including the Israel Population Immigration Border Authority, an Israeli government agency responsible for population registry and immigration topics, the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited (HKRNL), an employment website run by the Haryana government, the Foreign Cooperation Department, Haryana and the National Skill Development Corporation, Delhi.
Yogender, who appeared for the test as an iron welder, said that he learnt about this job opportunity from the HKRNL website, which keeps unemployed youth posted about job vacancies. “What options do we have? As an iron welder, either we come to Chandigarh, Punjab or Gurgaon for work, which is a costly affair. I hardly earn around Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per month, out of which by the end of month I am left with just Rs 2,000 in my pocket. How can someone survive?”
He also lamented the lost chance of joining the Indian Army. “Earlier we had the option of joining the Army but even that has been reduced to the four-year Agniveer service. As far as the war in Israel is concerned, it does not matter, one can die anywhere. But at least in Israel we will get a good job and earn better,” he said.
Nearly all the young men who appeared for the skill test in Haryana had registered themselves with the HKRNL. However, there were many others from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, some of whom were fleeced by fake travel agents charging Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh per person to appear for the test. Others or those who learnt about this opportunity through YouTube and other social media sites.
Since Israel is not part of e-migrate, a portal run by the Ministry of External Affairs, the workers will not be required to register themselves on it. The e-migrate portal, linked with the Passport Sewa Project and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), is meant to regulate overseas employment, especially for the protection of less educated blue-collar workers or those moving to conflict zones or places without sufficient labour protections.
Notably, the demand for Indian construction workers arose after Palestinian workers were banned from work in Israel after October 7. According to a report in Voice of America, Israel’s construction sector had urged the Indian government to allow companies to hire up to 100,000 workers from India in a bid to replace 90,000 Palestinians who were working in this sector.
As per a report in The Hindu, some officials have questioned the Union government’s decision to send Indian workers as a replacement for Palestinian workers. The report mentioned that officials were of the view that India would not be seen as a neutral party if this happened, and said that it could lead to the targeting of about eight million Indians working in other parts of the Gulf region.
Haryana government issued advertisement in December
In December 2023, the HKRNL had issued an advertisement of job vacancies for 10,000 construction workers aged between 25 to 45 years in Israel, with three years’ experience and a salary of Rs 1.37 lakh per month (6,100 new Israeli shekel).
The minimum educational qualification for construction workers was a matriculation degree with three years of experience in the concerned field. However, after witnessing a huge rush of applicants, the selection teams have made the recruitment open for everybody irrespective of their degrees.
Among the required skills was industrialised building formwork, wood formwork, ceramic tiling of floors and walls, plastering work and iron bending with mandatory knowledge of reading construction plans.
‘Mason ka kaam hai, Rs 1.37 lakh salary’
At the MDU campus, Rohtak, one statement that could be heard from all applicants was, ‘Mason ka kaam, hai, 1.37 lakh salary (It’s a mason’s job with a Rs 1.37 lakh salary).’ Helpless youth hoping to clear the interview were more concerned about the good salary than the war.
Gurmeet Kashyap from Shahbad Markanda in Kurukshetra district, who applied for the mason skill test, was unfazed by the Israel’s war and said, “So what if war is going on in Israel, people are still staying there. Life is in God’s hands. At least in Israel we will have regular source of decent income. Here in India, leave alone a salary, people do not even pay us our daily wage on time.”
Jatinder Kumar, a graduate from Mewat, Haryana said, “We have been told that the workers will be kept in safe zones in Israel but I do not think so. There is so much damage in Israel because of the war. My father died and our financial condition is not good. Ghar ki halat kharab hai…paise ke liye ja rahe hai. Hamare liye zindagi maut ka sawal hai, kya karein (We need the money, for us it’s a life or death situation, what can we do).”
Another Haryana candidate, Kuldeep Singh, a Class 12 pass from Rewari district, also said that his financial condition was not stable. “We are dependent on family farming. When there are no jobs here, obviously youth will rush to grab such an opportunity. But when we reached the university, we got to know that candidates from UP and Bihar were also there. Haryana candidates should be given priority here,” he said.
Reacting against the Haryana government’s initiative, former Haryana minister and Congress leader Karan Singh Dalal wrote a letter to the state governor and sought his intervention to ensure the safety of the workers in war-torn Israel.
Dalal said that for 9.5 years, the BJP government in Haryana failed to provide any jobs to the youth. “The advertisement for jobs was issued when Israeli military operations were on in Gaza. The state and Central governments have not provided any protection to the applicants being sent to war affected Israel, which shows their lack of concern for them,” he said.
Non-Haryana applicants harassed
As the news of Israel’s recruitment spread, many youths from the neighbouring states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab reached the university, exposing the scale of unemployment in the country. However, following a lack of clarity about the rules of recruitment, non-Haryana applicants were left high and dry.
Braving the harsh cold like most applicants, Manish, who came from Rajasthan, was also clueless about the interview call and kept asking everybody about it. “I came through an agent, who demanded Rs 1.5 lakh to appear for the skill test for Israel. However, we are not being treated at par with the natives of Haryana. I do not know if we will get a chance or not.”
Another Sikar-based youth, Mukesh, said that he came for the Israeli recruitment through a state government agency. “When I got to know that the Israel government was hiring masons at a salary of Rs 1.37 lakh per month, I rushed to Rohtak. I am carrying my Aadhaar card, passport and PAN card for proof but given the way the non-Haryana candidates are being treated, it seems unlikely that we will be considered for an interview,” he said with a sigh.
Notably, in November last year, the Indian government had signed a three-year agreement with the Israeli government on the ‘Facilitation of the Temporary Employment of Indian Workers in Specific Labour Market Sectors (Construction and Care-giving) in the State of Israel’.
Such was the level of impatience of the applicants that despite being informed that the Israeli government will be holding a separate recruitment drive for construction workers in UP from January 23, young people kept coming to Rohtak.
A Bihar native from Betia, Ajay Paswan, who came along with a group of over a 100 people, said that an agent informed him about the job openings in Israel. “I am an experienced worker. I have worked in Dubai and Saudi Arabia earlier. I am aware of life abroad but we are not being entertained. There is no clarity about the recruitment rules. While officials are saying that it is open for pan-India candidates, preference is being given to Haryana natives only,” he lamented.
Ganesh Prasad Nishad from Varanasi also said that he came with the hope of getting this job. “We registered ourselves in UP and are eligible to apply. But they did not call us for an interview. The officials should give us a chance to appear for the interview,” he said.
NSDC general counsel speaks
Talking to the media at MDU, Rohtak campus, Ajay Kumar Raina, group general counsel from the National Skill Development Corporation, Delhi, who is handling the recruitment process, said, “An agreement was signed between the Indian and the Israel government, after which the recruitment drive started in Haryana. The NSDC had written to different state agencies to mobilise youth to apply for these vacancies. The recruitment is free and fair.”
On many applicants’ claims that agents were charging money for the recruitment, Raina said, “We have not authorised anybody to charge money from the applicants. Also contrary to the misunderstanding, the vacancies were open to people from entire country but because Haryana and UP took the initiative, we started the recruitment drive here. We will be holding a similar recruitment drive in UP from January 23,” he said.
Responding to queries on the safety of Indian construction workers in Israel, Raina said, “We have requested PIBA officials that our applicants will not be recruited in a war zone. Our talks are going on. Selected candidates would be reaching Israel within 30 days from now.”
However, protesting against the Indian government’s decision to send workers to Israel, around ten major trade unions under the banner of the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Independent Federations in November last year had urged the Indian government to reject the Israeli construction sector’s request to replace Palestinian workers with Indian workers amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
“Nothing could be more immoral and disastrous for India than the said ‘export’ of workers to Israel. That India is even considering ‘exporting’ workers shows the manner in which it has dehumanised and commodified Indian workers. Such a step will amount to complicity on India’s part with Israel’s ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians and will naturally have adverse implications for Indian workers in the entire region,” their statement said.
