BY EVA CHENG

Five hundred Chinese workers in Israel have been on strike since late March, demanding they be paid two years' worth of unpaid wages, even though Chinese authorities have threatened them with seven years' imprisonment if they continue.

There are about 5000 Chinese workers in Israel, mostly employed in the constuction sector, and delayed wages are common.

One group of 170 workers in Tel Aviv finally decided they could take it no longer and launched a strike at the end of March to reclaim unpaid wages. Until then, they had been forced to survive on pocket money given to them periodically, rather than the US$350 a month they had been promised.

Word of their brave action spread quickly, inspiring another 340 Chinese workers in other parts of Israel to also come forward with claims for long unpaid wages.

The workers' hotline, Kav La'Oved, came to their aid and soon discovered that even their promised wages amounted to only about half of the legal minimum in Israel.

Then, it was discovered that the Tel Aviv workers' pay had been deposited into bank accounts in their names, which they had never been informed of and which were controlled and nearly emptied by the Chinese agency which handled their employment.

Alarmed by the highly vulnerable state of the Chinese workers, a coalition of human rights organisations has appealed to Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, urging him to demand the Chinese authorities promise not to persecute the striking workers.

While Sharon has made no statement about whether he will take up the case, one employer has agreed to pay more than US$1 million to about 80 Chinese workers.

Another 300 workers are still in dispute, saying they will not return to China until they have received their back pay.

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