By David Asta Alares
New Delhi, Feb 2 (EFE).- Thousands of skilled workers in India, including bricklayers and carpenters, are seeking employment opportunities in Israel despite the ongoing deadly war and concerns about a potential broader escalation in the volatile region.
The Indian quest for Israeli jobs follows a bilateral agreement between the two countries and the cancellation of 150,000 work permits for Palestinians amid a conflict between Hamas and the Israeli military that has killed more than 27,000 in the besieged Gaza Strip.
In the northern Indian city of Lucknow, more than 7,000 workers braved low temperatures and blinding winter fog for a week-long skill test to secure jobs in Israel.
“Some 5,187 were selected,” head of the Lucknow Industrial Training Institute (ITI) Raj Kumar Yadav told EFE.
A similar process took place over six days last month in the state of Haryana, with thousands participating, Pallavi Sandhir, an official of a government agency that recruits workers for public projects, told EFE. “It was a practical test. We haven’t received the final list yet. A lottery system is in place.”
Israeli teams were scouting for 10,000 workers between the two states, offering a relatively lucrative monthly salary of about $1,600, compared to the $300 average monthly salary in Haryana.
The allure of higher salaries seems to outweigh concerns about the ongoing conflict for many workers.
“What will the conflict do when we have so much to earn? It is almost seven times more money per month than we would earn here,” bricklayer Mukesh Kumar Rawat, a 34-year-old Lucknow resident, was quoted as saying by The Times of India newspaper.
Officials overseeing the selection process share this sentiment, expressing confidence in the government’s commitment to ensuring the safety of selected workers in the war-torn region.
The war between Hamas and Israel broke out on Oct. 7 after fighters of the Islamist Hamas group stormed into Israeli territories, killing some 1,200 and kidnapping 250.
Those dead in the Hamas attack included at least 30 Thai and 10 Nepalese citizens. An unspecified number of foreign workers has been kidnapped by the militant group that de facto controls the Palestinian enclave.
Since then, the Israeli Army has relentlessly bombed the Gaza Strip, killing more than 27,000 Palestinians and injuring over 65,000. Some 8,000 are missing, believed to be buried under the rubble of buildings razed by Israeli airstrikes.
As the conflict escalated, Israel canceled the work permits of some 150,000 Palestinian workers, leaving a labor void in the Jewish country, which has now sought workers from countries like India and Sri Lanka.
Long before the war, Israel and India inked an agreement in May last year that allows 42,000 Indian workers to be employed in the construction and nursing sectors.
“My…opinion is that this (agreement) is not good because of security reasons in Israel,” Sanjay Kumar Singh, general secretary of the Indian National Trade Union Congress, told EFE.
The opinion is shared by other labor unions in the country and several of them denounced the hiring plans in a statement last November.
The rush to seek employment in a country facing conflict underscores prevailing unemployment in India.
According to the Center for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate reached approximately 10 percent in November last year, marking an all-time high.
The stark reality contrasts with the positive outlook portrayed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said the government was committed to creating “countless opportunities for youth employment.”
A study by Azim Premji University further highlights the challenges faced by highly educated young people, revealing a 40 percent unemployment rate among those under 25 years old in 2023.
The study raises crucial questions about the nature of jobs available to graduates in line with their skills and aspirations. EFE
up-daa-ssk