University heads asked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday to personally intervene in negotiations with the government over wages and benefits for university professors whose salaries have effectively dropped due to an increase in the cost of living.
As with the striking Secondary School Teachers' Association, the union representing the academic staff members at the universities has had little success in breaking the deadlock on stalled talks with the government.
The Commission of University Presidents also announced Sunday that it will consider canceling tuition fees for its students until the strike, now in its 28th day, comes to an end. According to a report published in the daily newspaper Ma'ariv, it seems unlikely that students will be charged for the first part of the fall semester if the strike continues into December.
Striking secondary school teachers, parents and students have also asked the Prime Minister to intervene, but to no avail, other than an open letter issued by Olmert's office on Friday, urging the teachers to return to the classrooms.
A slim Knesset majority of 64 MKs signed a petition initiated by National Religious Party member Eli Gabbai last week asking the Prime Minister to personally intervene to bring an end to the strike.
Olmert responded with a public appeal to the teachers asking them to end their strike, and a personal promise to raise their salaries significantly if they would agree to add hours to their schedules.
Despite the fact that some 400,000 high school students have had no lessons since the school year began, Education Minister Yuli Tamir announced over the weekend that matriculation exams (bagrut) would be held as scheduled in December.
A massive rally Saturday night by tens of thousands of teachers, students and parents from around the country underscored the outpouring of support by the public over the past month and a half.
Representatives of the Finance and Education Ministries were polite, but have not budged on their latest offer of an 8.5 percent pay hike for high school teachers with discussions of added school hours and smaller classrooms. The teachers have demanded a 15 percent pay hike and better working conditions.