- 16.1% מהתלונות לנציבות תלונות הציבור ב-2020 היו של אזרחים בני הגיל השלישי, זאת יותר משיעורם באוכלוסייה העומד על 12%.
- הגופים הציבוריים עליהם התלוננו בני הגיל השלישי: ביטוח לאומי, עם עלייה של 45% משנה קודמת, משרד התחבורה, משרד הבריאות ומשטרת ישראל.
- למעלה מ-60% מהפונים בני הגיל השלישי היו גברים.
נציבות תלונות הציבור במשרד מבקר המדינה קיימה ב-1.12.2021 כנס בינלאומי לציון 50 שנה לפעילותה. הכנס, בסימן קידום זכויות בני הגיל השלישי התקיים באופן מקוון והשתתפו בו נציבי תלונות ציבור מלמעלה מ-50 מדינות, כגון: בריטניה, ארצות הברית, מרוקו, תאילנד, ארגנטינה, דרום אפריקה, אוסטרליה ועוד.
בין היתר נישאו ברכות, נשיא המדינה, מר יצחק הרצוג ויו"ר הכנסת ח"כ מיקי לוי. בנוסף, התקיימה הרצאה של ד"ר קירה רדינסקי, בנוגע לכלים לחיזוי העתיד בעולם של אריכות ימים. הכנס התקיים באנגלית עם תרגום סימולטני לשפות ספרדית, צרפתית וערבית.
שנת 2021, שנת היובל לנציבות, מתמקדת בהגברת המודעות בקרב בני הגיל השלישי לאפשרות להגיש תלונות לנציבות, לימוד האתגרים הניצבים לפני קבוצת אוכלוסייה זו והתאמת דרכי הבירור לצרכים המיוחדים שלה. ביום נציב תלונות הציבור שהתקיים ביוני 2021, קיים מבקר המדינה ונציב תלונות הציבור מתניהו אנגלמן, יחד עם עובדי הנציבות הרצאות לבני הגיל השלישי בדיור מוגן ומרכזי יום בכ- 50 מוסדות דיור מוגן ומרכזי יום.
על פי נתוני הנציבות בשנת 2020 16.1% מהתלונות שהוגשו לנציבות היו של אזרחים בני הגיל השלישי, זאת למרות ששיעורם באוכלוסייה עומד על 12%. התפלגות המתלוננים בני הגיל השלישי לפי מגדר: 61.6% גברים ו-38.4% נשים. לשם השוואה - ההתפלגות של גברים – נשים באוכלוסיית בני הגיל השלישי היא 44.8% גברים ו-52.2% נשים. לכן הפער בין שיעור המתלוננות בנות 65 ומעלה לבין המתלוננים בני 65 ומעלה בולט אף יותר.
הנושאים המרכזיים שמעסיקים את בני הגיל השלישי: השירות לציבור, גמלאות, דיור ואכלוס, כספים (כגון - החזרי כספים והוצאות, אי קבלת מענקים, חיוב בתשלומים), דואר, מים, חשמל, בריאות ומיסים.
עוד עולה מנתוני הנציבות כי בשנת 2020 חלה עלייה של 46% במספר התלונות של בני הגיל השלישי על הביטוח הלאומי. הגופים הציבוריים העיקריים שעליהם התלוננו בני הגיל השלישי הם: הביטוח הלאומי, משרד התחבורה והבטיחות בדרכים, משרד הבריאות ומשטרת ישראל.
מבקר המדינה ונציב תלונות הציבור מתניהו אנגלמן: "בני הגיל השלישי נפגעו באופן מיוחד בעקבות מגפת הקורונה, החל בהיבטים הבריאותיים וכלה בשירותים להם נזקקו למול השירותים שקיבלו. אני רואה חשיבות רבה בהנגשת הנציבות גם לאוכלוסיית בני הגיל השלישי כדי לסייע להם במיצוי זכויותיהם ובהתנהלות מול גורמי השלטון".
להלן הדברים המלאים של מבקר המדינה ונציב תלונות הציבור:
The Ombudsman of Israel's opening remarks for the Jubilee international online conference
Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted and excited to be here today at the Jubilee International online conference of the Office of the Ombudsman.
I would like to open my remarks with words of thanks :
- Special thanks to the President of Israel, Mr. Isaac Herzog and to the Speaker of the Knesset, MK Mickey Levy, who found the time to congratulate our institute with such warm words.
- Many thanks to the IOI and AOM organizations and to the President of the IOI, Mr. Chris Field, to the Secretary General of the IOI, Mr. Werner Amon, and to the President of the AOM, Mr. Andreas Pottakis, for endorsing the event.
- Last but not least, of course, I would like to thank all the ombudspersons (and dear guests?) who are participating in this conference.
50 years ago, the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) amended State Comptroller Law, adding to it the Seventh Chapter, by which the State Comptroller was appointed to the position of Ombudsman and the Office of the State Comptroller was inaugurated. On 22.9.1971, the Office of the Ombudsman opened its gates for the first time to the public, and began to receive and handle complaints about government bodies in Israel. Member of Knesset Michael Hazani commented in the framework of the enactment procedure, which led to the establishment of the Office, that the "Office of the Ombudsman is a special gift for the 'ordinary', helpless man, who is frequently pounded between the wheels of public administration". Since then, and in the course of the succeeding 50 years, the Office has been investigating complaints received from every segment of the population, on a wide range of issues relating to the exercising of the individual's rights in his interaction with government authorities. As in so many areas of our lives, significant changes have occurred in the course of the 50 years since the Office's inception. The wheels of public administration in 2021 are not what they were in 1971, and it is only natural that the toolbox of complaint handlers and the ways of handling complaints have come a long way, both in essence and from a technological aspect. Notwithstanding, it is surprising to discover that many of the subjects of complaints and the difficulties encountered by complainants have remained similar throughout the years.
The Jubilee is an excellent opportunity for taking a pause and looking back at the extensive activity of this institution over the years. It is also an opportunity to recognize and commend the achievements of its staff, who over the years have worked towards one goal only - to assist those in need of its help.
The work of the Office's staff includes tailor-made treatment for each complainant, in the framework of its core goal to provide accessible and convenient services that are free of charge.
Although the Office of the Ombudsman investigates the complaint of every complainant turning to it, it is obligated to take proactive measures to reach out to vulnerable communities that are worthy of special attention - communities that are required to contend with several barriers on the path to exercising their rights, such as the geographic barrier, the language barrier, the cultural barrier and the financial barrier.
This conference is the second online international conference to be conducted by the Israel Office of the Ombudsman. Many of you will certainly remember the online international conference that we hosted last year, under the auspices of the IOI, that discussed how ombuds institutes around the world had been coping with the Covid-19 crisis, and was attended by representatives from 47 countries. I place great importance on international cooperation with ombuds institutes across the globe. This fruitful cooperation makes it possible to discuss matters and challenges facing many ombudspersons, to learn from the knowledge and experience accumulated by colleagues in the different ombuds institutions and to update the international ombuds community with the knowledge and experience of our office on pertinent matters. The jubilee conference constitutes an important step in promoting the important collaboration of our office with our colleagues around the world.
The Ombuds institutions across the globe constitute an address for every person in need of assistance in their dealings with the different state authorities. Ombuds institutions provide their services in an egalitarian manner, assisting all those who requiring their help regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity or class.
Some two years have passed since the outbreak of the Covid-10 pandemic, and it is still very much with us. Its impact is considerable throughout the world and in every field of life. The Office of the Ombudsman of Israel, responsible during normal times for assisting people in their interaction with the different public authorities, has made even greater efforts during this challenging period to help those who have encountered difficulties at the hands of public bodies. The pandemic has dealt a particularly heavy blow to the population of older people, who have been forced to cope with loss, fear, diminished social activity and isolation, looking after a sick spouse, an increase in manifestations of ageism, etc. In addition, older people comprise the largest group at risk of being harmed by pandemic.
Throughout this period, the Office has worked to assist the population of older people in many ways. For example, it has made the way of filing complaints more flexible and enabled people who are incapable of filing complaints online, particularly older people who have difficulty utilizing digital means, to file complaints by phone. The staff of the Office frequently speak to older people and help them exercise their rights.
As a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, we also experienced an increase in the number of complaints received by the Office. 2020 saw a 24% increase in the number of complaints and we are expecting an additional increase in 2021. Regarding the population of older people, I'll point out that the percentage of older complainants - between 16% and 22% of all the complainants in the years 2018 to 2020 - was higher than their percentage of the overall population of Israel, which stands at 12%. This datum fortifies the resolve of the Office to reach out to those same populations worthy of special attention, to encourage them to exercise their rights in an optimal manner.
During the last days the issue of allowing Israel Security Agency, the ISA, to locate individuals in order to handle with the Omicron variant and the issue of the Exceptions committee for handling International traveling request is back on the public agenda in Israel and all over the world.
The Covid-19 pandemic entered into our lives two years ago. Those two years allowed us to learn and develop, to draw conclusions and to improve our handling the various aspects of the crisis. It is highly important that even at these times of crisis Governments all over the world will ensure keeping Individual Rights.
We as ombudsmen all over the world play a significant role, especially in times of crisis.
The audit report I published a year ago raised deficiencies regarding the effectiveness of using locations provided by ISA as part of managing the crisis.
The audit found that only 3.5% of those located by the ISA as people who came into close contact with infected person and were requested to stay in quarantine turned out to be infected.
This rate, which was the index to evaluate the effectiveness of the ISA's activity, reflected a potential of unnecessary quarantine of many individuals.
The audit recommended to include the ISA findings, in a comprehensive and in-depth epidemiological investigation by questioning the infected individual and not to impose quarantine requirement based only on ISA locating.
The Exceptions committee should also act with sensitivity and respect to individual needs while ensuring public health.
In two weeks our office will publish a special Ombudsman report regarding the third and fourth waves of the pandemic. I would like to share with you the details of two complaints our office handled to demonstrate the importance of Governments treating individuals with sensitivity and consideration, especially in times of a crisis.
One case was the request of an only child of an 83 years old elderly woman who lives in Russia, to leave Israel in order to assist her mother. She addressed many times the Exceptions committee but did not receive a response. The Ombudsman office addressed the head of the committee and received an answer that the committee has a heavy workload with 4000 requests per day. The Ombudsman office insisted on receiving a response within 24 hours, and succeeded - the request was approved!
In another case our office received a complaint on a decision of the Exceptions committee to allow a woman to leave Israel to take care of her ill grandmother but denying the her request to take her still breastfeeding 4 month daughter. The Exceptions committee stated that according to the regulations only those who have a green pass ( those who are fully vaccinated or recovered) can leave Israel and these regulations apply both to adults and children.
After the Ombudsman office examined this issue with the Ministry of justice- which informed that children under 3 years old can leave with their parents without presenting a green pass.
I call upon the Exceptions committee to draw conclusions and act efficiently and with empathy for all.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Head of the Office of the Ombudsman, Dr. Esther Ben-Haim, who steers the Office with untiring fervor and guides it to many significant achievements in the field of innovation and the scope of the complaints, and who is responsible for organizing this conference. I wish also to thank the entire staff of the Office, who perform their work diligently and professionally in order to assist complainants in exercising their rights and in their interaction with the government authorities.
I wish you all a fascinating and enlightening conference. May we soon see better days; may the world be blessed with good health and may we all meet face to face at the next conference, and not in another 50 years.