Workweek Shortened to 40 Hours

The second phase of the workweek reduction, led by the Histadrut, will come into effect at the beginning of the month as part of a framework agreement.

Histadrut Chairman Arnon Bar-David said: “Israeli workers work harder and for far too many hours compared to their counterparts around the world. Shortening the workweek is a historic moment that will improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of workers and their families.”

September 1st marked the second phase of the workweek reduction scheme, which until last year stood at 42 hours and has now been reduced to 40 hours. In monthly terms, this means a reduction of eight hours for a full-time employee, from approximately 182 monthly hours to 173 and a third. This reduction directly affects hundreds of thousands of workers in the public sector. It is being done without affecting wages, meaning that the hourly value of a full-time employee will increase.

The move is part of a framework agreement led by the Histadrut with the Ministry of Finance last year. In addition to reducing working hours, the agreement includes a general improvement of approximately 11% on average for public sector workers’ salaries and dedicated budget envelopes for disadvantaged sectors.

Bar-David further said: “Shortening the workweek to 40 hours in the public sector is a historic step that will improve the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of workers and their families. Public sector workers have proven how significant their work is for the country – both in normal times and even more so now during crisis. I believe that their mobilization and assistance to Israeli citizens have demonstrated their unity and utter concern for others. Especially in these turbulent times, it is important to ensure the strength of the public sector and service to the citizens. The Histadrut will continue to work for workers’ rights and fair working conditions. Together, we will build a more advanced labor market that sees workers and cares for their well-being.”

It is noted that the shortened workweek came into effect in April of this year in the civil service and government ministries.

Working two hours less a week is a great victory for work-life balance in Israel. However, even after this reduction takes effect, the Israeli employee will still work three hours more than the average of the OECD countries, which stands at 37 hours per week. Whilst there is still a way to go to improve workers’ conditions in this sense, the current goal of the Histadrut is to ensure that the private sector will also adopt the framework for shortening the workweek.