There is no agreement with the teachers: does the education system shut down immediately after the holidays?

After everyone congratulated what seemed to be a great victory for the teachers union, it turns out that there is no agreement, but only understandings that are very difficult to implement because of the election laws.

The teachers are already revolting and demanding to know where the money they were promised is, but are having trouble getting answers.

The meaning: the strike in the education system is around the corner

Liat Ron

09/18/2022

Sunday, September 18, 2022, 10:09 a.m. Updated: 10:28 a.m.

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The Prime Minister, the Minister of Education and the Chairman of the Teachers' Union open the school year. The agreement that made the opening possible was "on ice" (Photo: Maariv, Avshalom Shoshani)

About three weeks ago, everyone celebrated the fact that the school year would open as a series, after heavy fears of a general strike in the education system accompanied the last weeks of August.

Just before the frustrated parents thought that the long vacation was going to continue, understandings were reached between the treasury and the teachers' representatives, and the result: the school year opened on time.

However, two and a half weeks after the start of the school year, not only has the new labor agreement for teachers not been signed (which was supposed to dramatically improve the salary of the beginning teachers and benefit the veterans as well), but as things currently stand, it will not be signed in the coming weeks either, as no sources have yet been found For financing to four and a half billion shekels, the cost of the agreement to the state.

In other words: even if the coming month is full of vacations, which will make the teachers wait, then right after them, in the second half of October, a strike may break out in the education system.

Even those who believe that the Prime Minister will not be able to afford a strike that will paralyze the education system two weeks before the election date, understand that the situation in which he finds himself is very problematic, due to the reservations that are imposed on the transitional government and limit its ability to maneuver.

Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Teachers' Union. While the teachers are waiting for the money, let's recall that Lieberman claimed that the issue will only be answered in the 2023 budget. The question is if there will be one - and when? (Photo: Flash 90, Yonatan Zindel)

Lapid decided: no lateral cut

At a meeting held at the end of the week at the Office of the Prime Minister, the director general of the ministry, Naama Shultz, announced that Lapid opposes horizontal cuts in government ministries to finance the agreement, as Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman wanted - and sent the finance representatives to find other alternatives.

Since the treasury is prevented from using the large budget surplus in the state coffers because of the elections, it does not seem that there is currently a solution in sight.

Meanwhile, in the field, the anger of the teaching staff is growing.

Let's go back a little: on August 30, after several days of meetings around the clock, with a real threat of a strike in the air, the Treasury's appeal to the Labor Court to issue injunctions against the teachers and the puzzling backing (until we remember that this is the eve of an election) by the Minister of Education, Ifat Shasha Biton for the teachers, the announcement came out that the parents expected: the agreement between the teachers' union and the Treasury was signed, the strike was called off.

At the celebratory press conference, the Secretary General of the Teachers' Union, Yaffe Ben David, thanked Lieberman, complimented him on the strong push he gave to end the crisis and said, "We brought good news to educators, students and parents.

The agreement not only puts the students at the center, but also the educators and it promotes the education system."

The media was quick to crown Ben David as the big winner: the teachers received a significant salary increase, including an increase of NIS 1,000 for a veteran teacher and NIS 2,100 for a beginning teacher, the vacations They were not harmed, the total number of personal contracts will be 6% and not 10% as demanded by the Treasury, in short, a knock out under the auspices of the elections. After all, no politician wants a strike to be registered in his name in the education system a few months before going to the polls.

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Education Minister Yifat Shasha Biton.

Gave backing to teachers against the threat of restraining orders (Photo: Maariv, Avshalom Shoshani)

The victory that became a loss

But as it seems right now, Ben David is the big loser.

What was signed between her and the Treasury is nothing more than "agreements", i.e. a sort of framework, which needs to be filled in with details and turned into a written agreement.

So far, there is still no draft agreement and the teachers who thought they would receive the salary increase in September, will be disappointed to find out that it will not happen.

The chance that the agreement will be signed in October is also slim, because of the holidays.

If something moves, if an alternative budgetary source is found to finance the cost of the agreement, it will only happen after Sukkot, a few weeks before the elections.

The teaching staff, as mentioned, are angry and feel cheated.

On September 11, Smeder Morse, from the "September 1" movement, the field movement of the education and care teams in Israel, sent a pointed letter to Ben David in which she demanded to know whether or not there was an agreement.

"If there is an agreement, where can we look at it?" Morse wondered.

"Why is the information not found with the teaching staff?

"If there is no agreement, on what date will it be signed? Where and when will it be published? By whom? And how will the information reach the teaching staff? When will the agreement enter into force and be reflected in the pay slip, and will there be a retroactive refund for the previous years in which there was no agreement? Will the salary increase be transferred In one stroke or in several strokes?".

The petition published by the September 1 organization demanding the publication of the agreement has been signed by 850 teachers so far.

Ben David, as mentioned, does not have the answers to these questions, since there is not even a draft agreement that can be reviewed, and without a budgetary source there is no point in starting discussions on the details of the agreement.

Perhaps this is the place to recall Lieberman's words when the budget was passed, "The salary requirements of the teachers, interns and soldiers will only be addressed in 2023".

Regarding the interns, it is already clear that the agreement with them will only come into effect in September 2023, and probably also that of the teachers.

An empty classroom: Is the parents' nightmare returning? (Photo: Reuven Castro)

The strike is only a matter of time

The Treasury also understands that shutting down the education system is only a matter of time.

The question is, will a strike during the holiday month be effective at all, since the number of school days is negligible and will it be able to speed up the signing of the agreement in the current political constellation, under the severe limitations regarding budget decisions on the eve of elections.

What is certain is that the timing chosen by Ben David is bad for the teachers and her and works in the interest of the treasury, which was hoping for deeper changes in the education system, beyond the salary increase.

Some of the teachers seem to understand very well the situation they have found themselves in.

The Facebook page of the "Struggle of Teaching Workers and Retirees" reads, "Nice Ben David! We do not make a living from agreements or understandings with the Treasury! We demand to see a signed agreement that will be reflected in our paycheck."

And also, "Ran Erez signed the agreement after Yaffe and immediately sent his details to the teachers, while Yaffe is still hiding his details from us. Yaffe, the Treasury worked on you again."

: "The parties are working to anchor the agreements reached on the eve of the opening of the school year in order to bring about the signing of the agreement as soon as possible."

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Tags

• A strike in the education system

• Nice cousin

• Yair Lapid

• Avigdor Lieberman

• Yifat Shasha-Biton

• Teachers Union

• Ministry of Finance