THE Construction Workers’ Federation of India, in a statement issued on December 19, has  strongly condemned the Haryana state government’s move to send 10,000 skilled workers to Israel, out of which a large section are construction workers. The  BJP led government’s ‘Haryana Kaushal Rojgar Nigam’ (HKRN) put out an advertisement on December 15, 2023 for recruiting 10,000 skilled workers for Israel, where there is a shortage of manpower in the construction sector since the start of the genocidal war on Palestine launched by Israel.

It was earlier reported that Israeli authorities have ordered Palestinian workers working in different sectors in Israel with work permits, to leave, as part of their attacks on Palestinians. While the Israeli Builders Association has asked for 50,000-1,00,000 Indian construction workers to replace Palestinian workers, it was reported that Israel and India are negotiating about sending 15,000 workers.

The Haryana Kaushal Rojgar Nigam (HKRN) has outlined specific criteria for individuals interested in the recruitment drive for young workers. This is a sinister ploy to exploit our country’s poor construction workers to send to Israel by offering lucrative salaries at the expense of death, starvation and income losses of fellow Palestinian workers. In addition to that, HKRN also recruits a large number of bouncers to guard the night clubs of Israel. This is a serious concern, as these Indian bouncers may be used in ongoing war.

News reports indicate that the BJP-led Uttarakhand government is also considering sending construction workers to Israel. A similar recruitment exercise may also be implemented in Uttarakhand as well.

The Construction Workers’ Federation of India vehemently opposes the alarming decision of the Haryana government to send the poor construction workers of our country to Israel to address Israel's shortage of workers and, in essence, extend support to its genocidal attacks on Palestine, resulting in the tragic loss of thousands of innocent lives, including children and women.

The CWFI demands the Indian government to actively support the UN resolution for an immediate ceasefire, the establishment of a Palestinian state with 1967 borders, and East Jerusalem as its capital. CWFI urges the government of India to leverage its diplomatic relations with Israel to ensure compliance with the UN resolution, instead of engaging in negotiations to send construction workers to Israel.

CWFI calls upon all its members and construction workers across India to participate in protests on December 22-23 against the moves to put the lives of construction workers of our country at risk by sending them to Israel, making them indirect partners in the genocidal attacks on Palestinians.
Construction workers in India stand united with the working class and the people of Palestine, who are facing genocidal attacks by Israel with the full backing of the USA and other imperialist countries.