Teachers reach new deal with Finance Ministry to end strike action over wage cuts
Under plan, teaching staff salaries will drop by 0.95% instead of 3.3%; implementing framework will require changes in legislation
After talks through the night, the Israel Teachers’ Union and Finance Ministry said Thursday morning they had reached an agreement over proposed salary cuts that have prompted strike action, shuttering hundreds of preschools and schools, all week.
Under the new plan, teachers’ monthly wages will be cut by 0.95 percent instead of the originally planned 3.3%. Also, two additional vacation days will be added for teachers, on the Lag B’Omer festival this year and next year.
In a key change to the previous proposals to end the dispute, a planned four-month freeze on advancing teachers to veteran status, which includes a higher wage, has been canceled. Also, there will be no reductions made to rewards and incentives for teachers or to their pension plans.
“The new framework is important and significant news for the public education workers,” the union and treasury said in a joint statement, noting it would see “a significantly lower reduction” in wages.
The statement also noted that implementing the agreement would require changes to legislation.
Under the previous plan, teachers’ monthly salaries were to have dropped by between NIS 300 and NIS 860 ($83-$240). The new deal will see a reduction of just NIS 86-NIS 270 ($24 – $75).
An official union strike began with a delayed opening of elementary schools and preschools on Sunday, following a Finance Ministry decision to cut public sector salaries by 3.3% to help finance the war against Hamas in Gaza. Following a Labor Court hearing, the strike ended at 10 a.m. and most teachers returned to work, while 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.
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. Citing their already low salaries, teachers said that they want the pay cut canceled entirely.
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, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
The Tel Aviv Labor Court on Wednesday ordered teachers to cease their disruptions and return to work.
In its ruling, the court said individual or non-union groups of teachers cannot legally strike and must stop taking sham sick days. The ruling did not comment on a Finance Ministry order to withhold pay from teachers who called in sick as part of the protest action.
The Times of Israel Community.