Bipartisan bill aims to bar employers from firing or cutting the salary or hours of reservists injured during service — including 90 days post-hospitalization.
A month after boycotting a bill by MK Matan Kahana due to Otzma Yehudit’s support, members of the Yesh Atid party have now partnered with the same party to promote a new bipartisan initiative aimed at protecting injured IDF reservists from workplace discrimination.
The bill, spearheaded by MK Kahana of the National Unity party, is co-signed by eight Yesh Atid MKs and two from Otzma Yehudit. It seeks to prohibit employers from dismissing or cutting the working hours and income of employees injured during or as a result of reserve military service.
Under the proposed legislation, the protections would apply for the duration of a reservist’s hospitalization and for 90 days following their discharge, unless the employer obtains a special exemption from a labor committee.
The collaboration surprised many in the political sphere, especially given that just weeks ago, Yesh Atid was heavily criticized for abstaining from a vote on Kahana’s “economic adjustment law” intended to support IDF widows. The bill ultimately failed after members of the coalition voted it down.
Opposition sources sharply criticized Yesh Atid in a conversation with Arutz Sheva – Israel National News: “Yesh Atid has become an opposition to the State. They broke agreements — there was a clear understanding that all Yesh Atid members would vote in favor of the bill. It’s entirely possible that Yesh Atid will need us for a 40-signature debate or to co-sign a future bill — and it’s entirely possible we won’t cooperate with them.”
MK Meirav Ben Ari responded to the criticism, stating: “Let’s clarify — Matan’s bill failed because the coalition mobilized against the IDF widows. Fifty-one MKs opposed it, and the bill was struck down. Yesh Atid MKs were absent from the plenum because any opposition member who collaborates with Otzma Yehudit will not receive our votes.”
