The cabinet on Sunday approved changes in law needed for an economic aid package that would raise the minimum wage, but some ministers voted against the plan, saying it was inadequate.

Under Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman’s new program, the minimum wage is to be raised to NIS 6,000 ($1,873) a month by the end of 2025.

However, the first hike, which will come in April, will raise the minimum wage by just 0.54 shekels an hour, from NIS 5,300 to NIS 5,400 a month, an increase of less than two percent — drastically less than many MKs have sought to advance through legislation, and below the rate that the average wage has risen.

Ministers from the Labor and Meretz parties voted against the plan, which still requires approval by the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee. The chairman of the committee, MK Efrat Rayten of Labor, has already said that changes must be made to the minimum wage plan.

Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli criticized the economic program.

Michaeli, the head of the Labor party, said at the cabinet meeting that the government has succeeded in protecting the economy despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic “and precisely because of that, this government cannot afford to harm the minimum wage of so many workers and vulnerable populations, as stated in the current package deal.

“That is why we in the Labor Party will continue to work so that the minimum wage is not harmed, and I am sure that a way to raise it can be found,” she said.

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