The teachers union and government have reached an agreement in principle to end the 60-day teachers strike, though the final wording of the agreement is yet to be formulated.
Representatives from the Finance Ministry and Teachers Union are expected to sign an accord in the near future bringing about an end to the strike. They have been holding intensive talks since noon Wednesday in an attempt to reach a final written agreement. The agreed upon accord deals so far with wages and hours but still at issue is the maximum number of students in each class. The all night negotiations were conducted under the threat of a National Labor Court back-to-work order effective Thursday morning along with the probability that thousands of teachers would remain home.
The Education and Finance Ministries issued a statement early Thursday calling upon parents to send their children to school Thursday, saying that an agreement is nearly completed, but that whether or not an agreement is signed, teachers are required to show up.
A statement released by the Teachers Union shortly thereafter confirmed that the strike was over, thereby preventing the court orders from coming into effect.
The marathon talks took place at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, with dozens of teachers protesting outside, calling on union head Ran Erez not to give in on the teachers’ core demands.
In rocket-battered Sderot, classes have taken place as normal for weeks, with an exception from the strike granted by the union in order to ensure that children have access to armored areas to protect them from the rocket-fire coming from Gaza.
Details of the Agreement
According to the agreement reached, teachers will an 8.5% pay hike in two stages, the first next month and the second a year later. The raises are conditioned on the increase of teaching hours and are in addition to the 5% raise already granted to civil servants.
Once the proposed reforms are implemented in the educational system, the salaries will be increased once more, for an overall 26% raise. If they are not implemented, the 8.5% pay raise will be cancelled.
Teachers' demands with regard to fewer students in each classroom and increased hours have been guaranteed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has committed to presenting teachers with an outline of the steps to be taken within 45 days.
In addition, teacher will be fully compensated for the time missed during the 60-day strike, on the condition that they put in the time necessary to enable students to make up missed material.