“You ask yourself; how can I help them?”

From the beginning of the war, the Histadrut and its unions majorly contributed to the social effort and the strengthening of the Israeli home front. The Histadrut coordinated volunteers to work in agriculture, collected clothing donations, housed evacuees (displaced persons) in Histadrut buildings, and donated from its resources to people and organizations in need. But among all these, there was also a lot of work to do to care for Histadrut employees. As a trade union dedicated to employees’ needs, the story of Histadrut’s support for its own workers must also be told. It sheds light on the warranted changes all workplaces in Israel have been facing since the 7th of October.  

VP Human Resources, Adv. Irit Puryan and Efrat Cohen from the Histadrut Human Resources office shared their stories about the work they did since the 7th of October to support workers of the Histadrut through the experiences of war:  

On Sunday, the 8th of October, the first emergency team gathered in the Histadrut. One of the first decisions of the Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David, was to use Beit Berl and the buildings of “Mishan” and “Wizo” as temporary homes for evacuees (displaced persons). Of course, within this, the leadership of the Histadrut had already understood that some of its employees had also become displaced and needed accommodation. In fact, there are Histadrut employees who, to this day, live in Mishan’s facilities.

The Histadrut General Manager, Dudu Bezalel, and the Director of Operations, Gili Grifler, two important figures in the daily management of the work in the Histadrut, were recruited into the reserves. In essence, the internal and external function of the Histadrut had to navigate between the extreme needs of both the Histadrut employees and the workers we represent without key figures. Instead, under the leadership of Chairman Bar David, three women took charge: Irit, the Histadrut Call Center Manager Hasia Bacher, and the General Manager of Beit Berl, Inbal Jurini.

Irit and Efrat shared that they received numerous requests for help. Families who were immediately evacuated from their homes—many experienced unbelievable trauma for hours—needed clothes, toys, and food. People left hell with nothing, and for weeks the Histadrut operation was about getting them what they needed. The help was not just of a material nature. The Histadrut Youth Movement, NOAL, sent its members to provide informal education and social support on the ground to the displaced people. The goal was to provide people with all the support they needed to grieve and heal. To do so, the Histadrut leadership mapped all the needs and wants of people and repurposed its resources to provide those. “We became a well-oiled machine,” said Irit.

But there were also more difficult requests. One of Histadrut’s workers contacted them on the second or third day of the war, saying – “My daughters are with their father in Kibbutz Magen… I don’t know if you can help, but I need help evacuating them.” – “You ask yourself; how can I help them?” They did what they could, circulating the request to anyone they thought might be able to help. In the end, Yaya Fink, the Chair of the Division for Social Justice and Gender Equality, evacuated them with “Brothers in Arms”.

This was not the only story. “Because we [the Histadrut] are spread from north to south, this war is deeply affecting us.” Workers who live up north, also needed help from day one. “We had one worker from the northern regions asking for help to rescue her daughter from the south in the first days of the war. You have to understand that there were no buses for several days. At least not continuously.” One of the workers from the center volunteered to drive her and returned her home safely.

In general, there was a lot of concern for the parents. Many of the Histadrut employees stayed home for the first few weeks. There were no schools, and the rockets continuously targeted Israel. The Histadrut has employees whose spouses were called to the reserves, and they thus became de facto single parents who had to care for their children and carry out all the household chores themselves. “In such a situation of war and uncertainty, the right thing was to let them be with the children.” Said Efrat.

At the same time, the anxiety was enormous. When the chairman of the Histadrut decided to go back to work, workers were encouraged to return to their routines, which gave them some stability. Still, the Histadrut decided to absorb the economic damage. “Throughout the entire period, the workers’ wages were not affected. Those who stayed at home to be with the children, those who went to volunteer because they wanted to do something for society, and those who could not work from the usual offices because they were evacuated from their homes or because the entire region was evacuated – we supported all of them,” said Irit. More than that, say Irit and Efrat, “we helped with transportation for workers who went to volunteer in agriculture. As a social movement, we understand the need for our employees to be at the forefront of rehabilitation.”

Nine months since the beginning of the war, The Histadrut continues to creatively solve work arrangements. As the northern districts of Israel are evacuated from Hezbollah’s aggression, Histadrut workers from Kiryat Shmona operate from Sefad or Hatzor, and workers who are themselves displaced operate from other Histadrut offices, which are most convenient to their temporary accommodation.  

A major topic to address has been the mental health of workers. Already from the first weeks of the war, there was an effort to respond to the mental health needs of all the workers in the economy, of the entire Israeli population, and of course, of Histadrut workers. To address it, the Histadrut emergency team decided to open a helpline staffed by social workers and psychologists. It was devised to provide help to anyone who called, so the publication of this was a major part of making sure people knew they had where to turn for help. This is thanks to the highly appreciated effort of the Union of Social Workers and the Israel Psychological Association to prioritize this service, whilst their workers were faced with a significant rise of support demand.  

But it didn’t end with that. Irit and Efrat shared that the Histadrut has many employees who they believe need additional help. “We helped employees who have returned from reserve duty, and we could see that they needed help and weren’t one hundred percent ok.”

“The government systems cannot provide an immediate response. So, for me, connecting workers with psychologists with immediate counseling is fulfilling. Every little help I can provide, even driving the daughter of an employee, fills me up.” Said Irit.

Looking ahead, the Histadrut is concerned with the possible implications of Hezbollah’s growing aggression. “It may turn out as something else entirely. But if a war breaks, we will keep working. Because I have no doubt that the essential enterprises will keep working, so we will have workers to represent, to make sure they are compensated fairly, and that their rights are being met. We are an essential enterprise that works to keep essential enterprises going.” Said Irit.

Credit for all photos: Histadrut PR