Histadrut demands immediate halt to cancellation of management experience requirements in civil service hiring

A major labor dispute is brewing within Israel’s civil service sector. The Histadrut, Israel’s national trade union federation, has sent an urgent letter to the Civil Service Commission demanding the immediate cancellation of a new directive that removes the requirement for management or professional experience for candidates applying for certain government positions.

In a sharply worded letter to Adv. Ina Alfasi, Head of the Senior Staffing and Tenders Division at the Civil Service Commission, Adv. Ofir Alcalai, Chair of the Israel Government Employee Union, warned that the directive issued on April 23 would cause severe damage to the professionalism, integrity, and functioning of Israel’s public service.

According to Alcalai, eliminating the requirement for managerial or professional experience undermines:

• The fairness of the tender process for workers who previously met strict qualification criteria.
• The promotion opportunities of experienced civil servants.
• The credibility and quality of public service hiring processes.
• Worker motivation and public trust in state institutions.

Elkalai stressed that the decision was implemented hastily and without prior consultation with workers’ representatives, and that it already applies to government tenders published as of May 1, 2025.

Histadrut: “An Unprecedented Blow to Public Service Standards”
Elkalai accused the Civil Service Commission of prioritizing administrative convenience over professional standards, warning that the move would encourage favoritism and political appointments at the expense of qualified public servants.

“The State of Israel must protect the professionalism and integrity of its civil service, not dilute it,” Alcalai wrote. “This decision demotivates veteran public employees, rewards mediocrity, and jeopardizes the very foundations of public trust.”

He further noted that thousands of state workers could be directly harmed by this change, including many who have invested years in acquiring the experience now deemed irrelevant.

Union Threatens to Escalate Protest
The Histadrut demanded an immediate suspension of the new directive and called for urgent consultations. Should the demands not be met, the union warned it would not hesitate to take further organizational and legal action to defend workers’ rights.

“This is not merely a technical change,” Alcalai concluded, “but a fundamental threat to the future of Israel’s civil service.”