170 subcontractors have come on board as direct employees of of Hillel Yaffe Medical Center

Close to 170 subcontractors and employees of the Health Corporation working as cleaners, laboratory workers and X-ray technicians at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center today became employed directly as civil servants, in a special ceremony held at Hillel Yaffe. These workers at Hillel Yaffe join the ranks of hundreds of workers who have already become directly employed by other hospitals. On hand for the ceremony were Histadrut Chairman Avi Nissenkorn, Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon, Director General of the Ministry of Health Moshe Bar Siman Tov, Director General of Hillel Yaffe Medical Center Dr. Mickey Dudkiewicz, Administrative Director Dr. Amnon Ben Moshe, the subcontractors, Health Corporation employees and others.

At the ceremony, Histadrut Chairman Avi Nissenkorn said, "For several weeks, the Minister of Finance and I have gone from one hospital another to celebrate with the workers as they become direct employees - and each time, we get just as emotional about it. Actually, by hiring them as employees, we are driving social change. We are here for a celebration of solidarity and human dignity. The Minister of Finance and I, together with the heads of the health care system, Minister Litzman, the Director General of the Ministry of Health and the administration of Hillel Yaffe Medical Center. Together, we will continue until we effect true social change in Israel."

The Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Kulanu party Moshe Kahlon said, "Over the past weeks, we have hired hundreds of workers at Assaf Harofeh and Barzilai, and today we are hiring another 170 here at Hillel Yaffe. We, as a country, do not have accept this concept of some workers being more equal than others. This is exactly our job as public officials - to change and fix inequities. It's the right and most moral thing to do."

Director General of the Ministry of Health Moshe Bar Siman Tov said, "I thank the Minister of Finance and the Chairman of the Histadrut for allowing the health care system be part of this move to hire subcontractors. We, in the health care system, are here for the patients, but to do that - we need to remember that the people who are in contact with them are the workers - and if they aren't happy, the patients won't be either."

Director of Hillel Yaffe Medical Center Dr. Mickey Dudkiewicz said, "Just as we at the hospital seek a cure for every patient who comes through our doors - treating them all as equals, regardless of religion, race or sex, that is how we see our employees, as this hospital is the heart of their work. Today is a happy day for all of us. It marks the end of a complex process that took years, but it was well worth it."

Administrative Director Amnon Ben Moshe said, "Today we are delivering a message, a kind of social change by bringing the subcontractors into the Hillel Yaffe family as social servants for all intents and purposes."

Participants in the ceremony celebrating the direct hiring of the subcontractors, which was held at Hillel Yaffe in Hadera, included State Employees Union Chairman Ariel Ya'acobi, Hadera District Histadrut Chairman Nir Ben-Haim, Chairman of the National Committee of Government Hospital Administrative and Housekeeping Workers Avi Koch.