Escalating nationwide strike, teachers threaten mass resignations over salary cuts
Many schools to remain closed for a fourth straight day as educators reject deal between teachers’ union and Finance Ministry that would see pay cut reduced from 3.3% to 0.95%
Teachers protesting salary cuts said Tuesday evening they plan to continue disrupting the educational system on Wednesday and are threatening mass resignations if government representatives do not return to the negotiating table.
More than 400 educational institutions remained closed Tuesday as teaching staff called in sick in continued action over surprise salary cuts.
The strike began with a delayed opening of elementary schools on Sunday, following a Finance Ministry decision to cut government salaries by 3.3 percent amid the war in Gaza. Some teachers did not report to work until 10 a.m., and others did not show up at all, with many schools opting to remain closed for the entire day. Some 25,000 teachers reportedly joined Sunday’s action.
That same day, the ministry reached an agreement with the Israel Teachers Union that pay would be cut by 0.95% instead of the original 3.3%, and that the cut would only be in effect from May to the end of December 2025.
The starting salary for new teachers in Israel is just $2,490 a month. Experienced teachers can earn almost double that, but only after 30 years in the profession.
Many teachers were unhappy with union leader Yaffa Ben David’s concessions in the negotiations and continued an unofficial strike by calling in sick Monday and Tuesday.
An organized group of those teachers threatened that if Ben David did not meet with them by 6 p.m. Tuesday, they would their escalate protest.
“The teaching staff in Israel is escalating its actions,” said a statement from the protest leaders. “Following the refusal to talk and the ongoing sanctions on teaching staff, a significant escalation has been decided: educational institutions will not open tomorrow, and thousands of teachers are organizing for a wave of mass resignations. The message is clear: whoever harms teachers will be left without education.”
The Ministry of Education warned earlier that teachers cannot claim to be sick if they are in fact participating in a strike and threatened that they would “find their salaries reduced by thousands of shekels at the end of the month.”
“The policy is clear: any unlawful absence will be deducted from one’s salary. A sick leave certificate does not constitute coverage for organized absence as part of sanctions and will be considered an unjustified absence. Teaching employees who disrupt the education system are acting in violation of the Labor Court order. All teaching employees are expected to respect the court’s decisions on the matter,” the ministry added.
Amid to the widespread school closures this week, the Kan public broadcaster reported that the Education Ministry is considering holding another date for the national standardized test in Hebrew for sixth graders, which was scheduled for Tuesday.
Initial estimates by the Education Ministry suggest 17,000-20,000 teachers — around 10 percent of the workforce — listed themselves as sick Monday, though, it is unclear how many schools remained closed nationwide, Kan said.
In Tel Aviv, 218 pre-schools and over 50 elementary and middle schools were shuttered.
Citing their already low salaries, teachers say that they want the pay cut canceled entirely.
Channel 12 reported that the salary cut does not apply to teachers in ultra-Orthodox schools.
The Times of Israel Community.