Two weeks after the end of its weeklong strike, the high school teachers union announced on Sunday night that it had successfully completed negotiations regarding a collective agreement for high school teachers. According to the union, the Finance Ministry backed down from its demand to employ a certain percentage of nonunion teachers on private contracts. Starting in September, the wages of full-time teachers will increase by 1,200 shekels ($317) each month. Teachers will also receive pay for time at the beginning of the school year spent on strike.
“I would like to thank our members, the high school teachers who with determination and perseverance participated in the struggle to promote the education system for its students and teachers, preserving public education, for the organized work and for the social solidarity in the staff room,” union head Ran Erez said. “Teachers who for whatever reason didn’t cooperate with the instructions of the organization will also benefit from the efforts and investment of their coworkers.”
According to the teachers union, the decisions of the collective agreement are as follows:
- 1. Wages will not be deducted as a result of the strike.
- 2. Full-time teachers will receive a one-time bonus of 9,600 shekels ($2,538) for the 2023 school year and part-time teachers will receive an equivalent amount based on their hours. That payment will be part of the October paycheck.
- 3. Starting in September’s paycheck, a full-time teacher’s salary will increase by 1,200 shekels ($317) each month, with equivalent raises for part-time teachers based on hours worked.
- 4. Many teachers will see a salary increase based on additional jobs performed such as subject coordinator, grade coordinator, educational adviser, special education teacher, homeroom teacher, teacher for the oral English matriculation exam, chemistry teacher, teacher for grades 13 and 14, and more.
- 5. The shortened dismissal procedure proposed by the Finance Ministry is canceled. The union agrees not to strike or otherwise involve itself in labor action only regarding those issues addressed in the new collective agreement.
- 6. The Finance Ministry withdrew its demand to hire teachers on private contracts. Education workers who are not teachers will be employed in schools as part of a limited pilot to end after four years. That arrangement will not continue if the teachers union declares that it was not successful.
- 7. The salaries of principals and vice principals will improve and a minimum salary for principals will be set in order to make the position more attractive.
This article was translated from Hebrew by Leah Schwartz.
