The Association of Secondary Education Teachers in Israel, which represents high school staff, on Sunday threatened to resort to action due to the “deadlock” in talks with the Treasury over a collective agreement and terms of employment of secondary school teachers.
In a letter to Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, the director of the association, Ran Erez, said the measures were intended to act as a “warning” at this stage and will not interrupt the course of the school year.
As part of the measures envisaged by the association, high school teachers (Seconds to the Terminal) will not be able to participate in any activity outside class hours. This includes professional conferences, seminars, travel arrangements and any form of extracurricular activity.
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A special commission will be created to look into exceptions on a case-by-case basis, the association said.
The measures are expected to take effect on Tuesday 25 October.
In his letter, Erez said that despite a recent agreement signed between the teachers’ association and the Ministry of Education, negotiations on some issues have stalled. He accused officials from the ministries of education and finance of systematically ignoring the association’s wage demands.
Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton speaks at a conference of the Federation of Local Authorities before the opening of the school year, in Ganei Tikva on August 18, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni / Flash90)
According to Erez, a previous salary agreement for secondary school teachers ended in February of this year without a new one being discussed yet, leaving the matter pending for months. “Out of a sense of national responsibility, the order of teachers accepted your request to start the school year in August 2022, without a valid agreement and without even questioning the salary requests submitted at the beginning of the year” , can – we read in the letter.
“Tens of thousands of secondary school teachers in Israel are employed without a valid collective agreement defining their salaries. Worse still, the issues raised by the teachers’ association on multiple occasions since the beginning of the school year – which require no expense – have been completely ignored, “accused Erez, without giving details on these issues.
Erez’s letter comes after the association reached a last-minute agreement with the Ministry of Education on August 31, averting a strike just hours before the school year begins.
Israeli school children return to school after the holidays in Sukkot, Tel Aviv, on September 30, 2021. (Avshalom Sassoni / Flash90)
The agreement provided for the shortening of the school week to five days and the implementation of the reforms of the secondary school leaving exams in the humanities.
While Erez said at the time that most of his demands had been met, he added, as an omen, “the finance ministry is a master at making things difficult. “
On Thursday the new employment contract, announced at the end of August, was signed by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education and the Israel Teachers’ Union, which represents teachers in kindergartens, primary and middle schools, but not high schools.
