Ensuring the Working Rights of Teens at Summer Jobs!

Hanoar Haoved, the youth movement associated with Dror Israel, is hard at work ensuring that no youth are exploited at work this summer.

Each summer, teens throughout Israel take their first steps into the workforce and each summer, unfortunately, some of those teens are mistreated by employers who don’t pay them full compensations or benefits, provide unsafe working conditions, don’t give proper breaks, etc. – taking advantage of their inexperience and high turnover in the positions.

As Israel’s official representative union for working youth, Hanoar Haoved has for decades helped mistreated youth demand their rights and even take employers to court when necessary, and over the years has won millions of shekels in compensation for teen victims of exploitation at work.

This summer, the youth movement took a proactive approach including training workshops for thousands of youth at schools and after-school programs, and some exciting new initiatives.

On June 15, the youth movement held a job fair in partnership with the Rishon Letzion municipality for almost 1,000 teens with employers who had pledged in advance to follow the law in its entirely and meet their commitments to their new young employees. The event was a huge hit and may likely become an annual tradition!

The youth movement also just launched a brand-new app called Avoda+ for working youth! With over 1,000 downloads already, it helps teens find appropriate jobs, teaches them about their working rights, helps them keep track of their hours and wages, and helps them contact Hanoar Haoved if they have any questions or are concerned that their rights may have been violated.

Good luck to all the teens starting their very first jobs this summer!