POB 35252
Tel Aviv 61351
Israel
- Democracy and community development
- Gender
- Human rights
- International/Cultural relations
- Youth and education
Our staff is made up of both Jewish and Arab members, allowing us to assist the neediest of Israel’s population regardless of language or ethnicity. Ma’an seeks to advance the status of workers of every ethnicity and gender and their opportunities, thus creating a basis for equality throughout society. We often function as a trade union for unrepresented workers, and have experience with labor and humanitarian projects. We educate members of society as to their rights as workers, helping to decrease exploitation and ensure fair treatment. We offer advice centers where individuals with questions and concerns can come speak with our staff and receive assistance. We also work to garner support for fair and living wages and benefits for all.
Some of our main projects include: providing legal aid to non-unionized truck drivers and excavation workers, promoting social entrepreneurship, supporting agency workers, helping the unemployed, highlighting work immigrants’ issues, and more. We conducted a successful 2-year pilot of Youth for Social Change, a program that goes into periphery high schools and works with students, both Arab and Jewish, informing them of their rights, developing leadership skills, and creating inter-ethnic dialog as they make tough decisions about life after school. We also work with Arab women setting them up with seasonal agricultural employment. Arab women are desperate for work and currently are employed through subcontractors who exploit their vulnerability. We work directly with farmers and these women to set up relationships for direct employment thus leading to fair wages and employment conditions. We also provide one year of training to educate these women as to their rights and how to properly seek employment independently.
Every individual deserves and is entitled to fair and equal wages for their work. Unfortunately due to difficult economic conditions, many people, particularly members of minority groups, find their situation exploited, their working conditions unacceptable, and their pay and benefits illegally withheld or below the legal minimum. We offer support to all groups in Israel regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, and religion. Every individual can benefit from properly understanding their rights as workers under the law and from an organization willing and able to support them in their quest to obtain these rights.
We feel that our work is imperative in Israeli society, and will use the ALF Network to initiate contact with other network members in an effort to offer our services, raise awareness, and ensure that more organizations are providing employees with their legal dues and are on the watch for illegally activities. We provide an important service, and are keen on widening our network and meeting other like-minded organizations.