Last minute: Contractors Association demands postponement of regulations or suspension of their enforcement

By: Itzick Simon

The day before the date set for the new safety regulations to come into effect, the Israel Builders Contractors Association, through the firm of Gornitzky & Co., sent an urgent letter

According to the association, the industry is required to meet the new obligations under threat of site closure, while the reporting forms have not yet been completed, practical guidelines are lacking, and basic questions regarding the identity of the work orderer and the applicability of the requirements remain unanswered. Added to this are difficulties in staffing safety positions and training foreign workers.

The association demands that the regulations be postponed until they come into effect, or alternatively that enforcement of the new requirements be suspended, and warns that in the absence of a response, it will turn to the courts for relief, including interim orders.

At this stage, the letter is a demand for change - it does not in itself postpone the regulations or delay enforcement. To the best of our knowledge, at this stage, the Safety Administration is rejecting the appeal on the grounds that contractors and work orderers have had a full year to prepare for the new regulations.