Be'er Sheva Labor Court Judge Ilan Soffer ruled in favor of Ghanaian citizen Ahmed Montilo, who had sued the Royal Beach Hotel in Eilat, the Israel Hotel Association and the Histadrut labor federation for amending a collective agreement to prevent people without national identity cards, such as foreign workers, from receiving benefits due employees at Eilat hotels.

The move was unusual because the hotel association and the Histadrut had already agreed to abide by the agreement. But Soffer said it had to be changed because of its discriminatory nature.

The work agreement "creates discrimination based on national origin, in violation of the Equal Labor Opportunity Law," wrote Soffer in his decision, blaming both parties to the deal.

Montilo, who has worked at the Royal Beach Hotel - part of the Isrotel hotel chain - for two years, was awarded NIS 1,600.

The 2004 collective work agreement between the Histadrut and the hotel association had stipulated salary increases for people who work at Eilat hotels for at least one year, but the agreement was amended in 2005 to say that only those workers who listed Eilat as their residence on their national identity cards would be eligible for the increases.

Soffer said there was no doubt that the change had been made because of an earlier ruling that foreign workers in Eilat were entitled to receive the increases, and accused the Histadrut of failing in its mission to protect the workers.

"The Histadrut made possible a situation of unacceptable discrimination, without any justification, whose entire purpose is to keep foreign workers from getting the benefits they deserve," wrote Soffer. "In precisely a place where the Histadrut could have become a significant force in protecting foreign workers, it has failed."