The laborers who complained were among dozens of Tsarfati's workers who gathered at the Bulgarian Embassy in Tel Aviv yesterday with all their belongings. The workers presented the ambassador, Professor Tsanko Yablonsky, with a petition entitled "We demand to leave Israel legally," asking the embassy's help in getting the wages owed them and flying them to Bulgaria.

A few of the Tsarfati company inspectors arrived at the embassy and demanded that the workers accompany them, but only a handful of the men agreed, while the others refused to leave the premises. The workers said they had not been paid since September and were not interested in completing their two-year contract.

One of the workers said that before winter's rains, they worked for 14-16 hours every day, noting that their work shifts now ran 10-12 hours a day. According to their calculations, they are owed more than $3,000 each. Ambassador Yablonsky promised to help the workers and protect their rights. Yesterday, the ambassador met a delegation of the Bulgarian Foreign and Labor ministries sent to Israel to look into the workers' complaints, the embassy's conduct in the affair and the steps taken by the Israeli authorities.