Teachers threatens strike if not prioritized to get vaccine

Secretary-general of the Israel Teachers Union head Yaffa Ben-David threatens that the union will declare a labor dispute if all its members are not swiftly vaccinated as part of the country’s mass inoculation program.

The vaccination drive, which began last week, started with medical workers and then moved on to those aged over 60 and at-risk groups.

Screen capture from video of Secretary-general of the Israel Teachers’ Union Yaffa Ben-David. (YouTube)

“It is inconceivable that pedagogic workers who are on the front line will not be vaccinated,” Ben-David says at a meeting of the Knesset Education committee. “The teachers are terribly afraid. ”

She urges a special vaccination program for teachers, separate to the one being run by health maintenance organizations, where the teachers can be quickly inoculated without waiting in line with the general public.