Interim deal reached with teachers union as 200,000 high schoolers stay home

An interim agreement with the Teachers Union has been reached, the Education Ministry announces, after some 200,000 high school students stayed home today.

The deal would end sanctions on high school activities enacted by the union at the beginning of the year, even as a strike in protest of the sanctions, called by Israel’s National Student and Youth Council, saw many skip school today.

The sanctions were enacted by the Teachers Union as part of ongoing negotiations with the government in regard to pay and other issues. They affect extracurricular activities and other events for high school students, including the annual Holocaust education visit to Poland.

The new agreement stipulates that high school teachers are to receive a one-time grant of NIS 2,400, a gradual salary increase, and other benefits, Ynet reports.

In return, the union has agreed to end the sanctions and halt further demands in negotiations for a period of four years on issues where agreements have been reached.

The student strike today saw a “near complete absence” among 11th and 12th graders, and about half of 10th graders staying at home, according to a report in the Calcalist business daily.

The National Student and Youth Council spokeswoman tells The Times of Israel that the strike affected schools in “every sector,” including secular, religious and Arab.