Treasury, teachers union reach wage deal to avert strike at start of school year
New teachers to receive NIS 9,000 a month under agreement, principals to start at NIS 19,000; vacation schedule to be changed
Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel
The Finance Ministry and the Israel Teachers Union announced on Wednesday that they had reached understandings on a new labor agreement following marathon overnight talks, preventing a strike at the start of the school year on September 1.
Talks to solve the wage dispute have dragged on for several months, with union chief Yaffa Ben David repeatedly threatening a strike that would stop schools and kindergartens from opening Thursday if a deal was not reached.
According to a joint statement, new teachers will receive a salary of NIS 9,000 ($2,700) per month, with bonuses of up to NIS 1,100. After three years of teaching, employees will receive a grant of NIS 10,000 to encourage them to remain in the profession. New principals will receive a starting wage of NIS 19,000 ($5,700).
School principals will be able to offer teachers bonuses of NIS 400 to NIS 1,000 for excellence and initiative. Furthermore, principals will be able to hire specialist teachers who work outside of the education system, for example, experts in special needs education.
One of the major outstanding gaps between the sides was the issue of vacation days, which the Finance Ministry wished to match up with those of working parents who often struggled to find child care while schools were on vacation.
According to the statement, the sides agreed that Isru Chag — the day after the Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot festivals — will stop being a school vacation day, along with Lag B’Omer and the Fast of Esther.
In exchange, teachers will have time off between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, plus another two vacation days to use as they wish.
The sides also agreed to a more streamlined process for laying off teachers and a three-year wait before qualifying for tenure.
The agreement, which has yet to be signed, will last until 2026. The deal must also be approved by the cabinet. With the strike apparently averted, the government withdrew its request for a back-to-work order.
Ben David said the agreement was “only a first step we are taking in the ‘root canal’ that the education system in Israel needs.”
Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman praised the deal, stating that schools would open “with a stronger and better-quality education system.”
“After long months of negotiations we succeeded in making deep changes that have never been seen in the education system in Israel,” he said.
Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton said the agreement “assures stability for years to come.”
“A strong, stable education system with quality teachers is in everyone’s interest for the future of our children,” she added.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid congratulated Liberman, Ben David, and Shasha-Biton on their efforts and praised the “good agreement that will strengthen the status of teachers in Israel and improve the level of education Israeli children receive.”
The final weeks of the previous school year were marred by strikes by the Israel Teachers Union in their struggle for better pay.
