Liberman says he’s asked for injunction forcing teachers back to work

Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman tells reporters that his ministry has asked the State Prosecutor’s Office for an injunction that would force teachers back to work at the start of the school year on Thursday.

Talks aimed at averting threatened strike action by the Israel Teachers Union at the beginning of the upcoming school year on Thursday have failed to reach a conclusion for months.

“We have been forced to contact the State Prosecutor’s Office and ask for an injunction so that the school year will begin without disruption,” Liberman says, adding that he hopes the Education Ministry will join the Treasury in its demand, and that the negotiations are still ongoing.

With schools set to open later this week, political leaders have taken an active role in the issue, with Prime Minister Yair Lapid holding talks last week with Liberman, Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, Israel Teachers Union head Yaffa Ben David and National Parents Association chair Merom Shiff in an effort to find a solution to the months-long crisis.

Negotiations for a new agreement are said to be stuck over a union demand that a system determining salary hikes based on rank and seniority remain in place, rather than a system that would shift some of those raises to newer teachers and those who excel at their work.