Precedent ruling: a government ministry must supervise the provision of services to its retirees, even if they are provided through an external association

The Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court determined for the first time the duty of a government ministry to supervise the provision of services to its retirees. The court criticized the conduct of the Ministry of Communications, which contracted with an association for the treatment of its retirees, but did not monitor that they actually receive the services they are entitled to.

The beginning of the story about 40 years ago, with the separation of Bezeq and the Postal Authority from the Ministry of Communications. The ministry, which is obligated according to the civil service regulations to provide various welfare services to its retirees, including hosting them for lectures, trips, vacations, and more, entered into a contract for this purpose with the post office pensioners association.

A group of the firm’s retirees who felt that they could not find their place in the association, petitioned the Labor Court in August 2021 demanding that the firm itself maintain contact with them and not separate this responsibility through contracting with a third party. Attorney Yigal Levy and the late Attorney Haim Gron (who was killed in a plane crash during the procedure), both former vice presidents and retirees of the firm themselves, represented the group in the procedure.

The court rejected the state’s demand to delete outright the pensioners’ claim with procedural claims such as lack of authority of the labor court to hear the claim, statute of limitations, non-exhaustion of procedures, etc.

In the ruling, Judge Dori Spivak accepted the state’s position that a government ministry may provide some of the services to its retirees through an external association, but determined that there were flaws in the ministry’s conduct, and that the state did not prove, nor did it claim, that it checked the services that the retirees actually receive. She even stopped transferring money for the ministry’s retirees to the association in 2018, claiming that the association did not provide her with the information it requested. Judge Spivak noted that according to the testimony of Senior Vice President for Administration and Human Resources Avivit Mesband, she does not have lists of the retirees who were supposed to receive services from the association.

“This is an unequivocal admission that the ministry does not fulfill its part of the agreement with the association, does not pay it, does not monitor its activities, and in any case does not verify as required that it provides the services to the retirees,” Spivak wrote. “Despite all of the above, the ministry still assumed for some reason, and so he claimed to us, that the association fulfills its obligations according to the agreement and provides the services to the pensioners. And not only did he make this unreasonable assumption, but based on that assumption – unreasonable in itself – he considered himself exempt for some reason from worrying to his retirees”.

However, the court noted that the firm provides some of the services to the retirees directly, such as inviting them to raise a toast during the holidays, sending greeting cards for the holidays, inviting them to the ceremony to replace the CEO of the firm, Shai Leh, mourning notices and condolence visits.

The court ruled that a ministry must ensure that all of its retirees receive as of this year all the services they are entitled to in accordance with the civil service regulations, and that it must carry out supervisory activities on the services provided by the association to its retirees. The ministry must also prepare a written report within 90 days to the Civil Service Commission and the plaintiffs regarding the manner in which the services were provided as of this year, detailing in it which of the services the ministry will provide and which the association or other entity, detailing the numbers of retirees receiving each service. The court also imposed legal costs of NIS 10,000 on the state.

The court made it clear that if the retirees believe in the future that the actions of the office to exercise their rights in accordance with the regulations are not sufficient, they can return to petition the court in a new and separate procedure.

The state was represented by Adv. Amit Trachtingut, and the Postal Pensioners Association was represented by Adv. Ziona Goldman.

“This is a very important ruling that unequivocally determines the responsibility of every government ministry to make sure that its retirees receive the treatment and welfare services they deserve by law,” said attorney Yigal Levy, who represented the plaintiffs. “The ministry cannot release itself from its responsibility to its retirees, claiming that Transferred them to third-party care using the ‘let-and-forget’ method.”