The Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court issued an injunction Wednesday evening against a planned teachers’ strike in opposition to the government’s decision to exempt school students from quarantine requirements. Schools opened as scheduled on Thursday and the new policy went into effect, replacing quarantine procedures with the requirement that students conduct antigen tests twice weekly at home.
The Teachers’ Union head, Yaffa Ben-David, had called for teachers and daycare staff to stay home on Thursday in protest against the new policy, which they claim will put teachers in danger. The government turned to the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court seeking an injunction against the strike, which Judge Dori Spivak granted on the basis that the announcement of the strike late Wednesday evening did not leave time for a hearing on the matter.
A hearing with both sides occurred on Thursday afternoon, where the Teachers’ Union demanded that the right to strike, or the new outline be postponed. Judge Spivak will release his decision in coming days, meanwhile the injunction against the strike still holds.
Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton criticized the Teachers’ Union’s stance, saying that “belligerent, political steps taken at the expense of Israel’s children are unacceptable, especially in these challenging days. This aggressive, one-sided behavior does not belong in our schools.”
Ben-David responded defiantly, calling the strike a “protest measure,” and writing in a letter to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Shasha-Biton that, “this plan will result in many students arriving at schools positive for the virus, with no way of anyone knowing. The growing spread of the virus will put all teaching staff and students at risk of infection.”
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett decided that the quarantine exemption for school students would go into effect on Thursday despite criticism and warnings from various sectors. Under the new policy, which was agreed upon by Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and Shasha-Biton, all students will be required to conduct home-based antigen tests twice a week. The test kits will be distributed to them free of charge, and they will not be required to go into quarantine even after coming into contact with a confirmed coronavirus patient.
Ben-David explained at Thursday’s hearing that the education system is not currently prepared for this measure, with as many as 40% of teachers and staff out due to the virus, along with the fact that the antigen tests will not be ready for mass distribution until next week. This lack of preparation, combined with high morbidity, may endanger teachers.
Representatives of the state responded that this was a “political strike” against a legitimate government decision, further claiming that the announcement of the strike did not precede a preliminary declaration of a labor dispute as required by law.
Representatives of the Teachers’ Union responded that it was the state that acted unilaterally, and that the strike was declared at the last minute was because of senior Ministry of Health officials who withdrew their support for the outline in the lead-up to its approval. These included Director General of the Health Ministry Professor Nachman Ash, and Head of Public Health Services Dr. Sharon Elroy-Preis.
The director general of the Ministry of Education, Dalit Stauber, said this morning that the new outline promotes the health of students and teachers: “This outline maintains the health of the public. The school is becoming the place where the population is most tested. On Sunday, everyone will get tested.”
This article was translated from Hebrew by Sam Edelman.
