Israel's Finance Ministry has turned to the Center for Local Authorities, demanding that a plan be drafted to cut the salaries of striking teachers, even during the summer months, Kan News reported.
Teachers in Israel receive a twelve-month salary, which is officially the annual salary for ten months added together and divided into twelve parts instead of ten. Thus, a teacher who is on maternity leave during the summer months receives a "double" salary, with the maternity leave pay from the National Insurance Institute, as well as the pay deducted from her salary over the course of the school year. A teacher who for some reason did not work for part of the ten-month school year will see a reduced "salary" during the summer, since she did not set aside pay for the summer months over the course of the period when she was not working during the school year.
It is for this reason that the Ministry is requesting to amend the striking teachers' summer pay.
Meanwhile, as the teachers' strike in high schools across Israel enters its second week, the Teachers' Union has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to involve himself in the matter. The Finance Ministry, for its part, has expressed hope that the teachers will "break" their strike, after not receiving pay for the strike.
An internal Education Ministry document revealed ho much money high school teachers have lost in their week of striking: According to the calculations, in one week the teachers lost between 2,500-3,500 NIS. The Teachers' Union has a compensation fund which is supposed to cover the teachers' losses, but the Finance Ministry estimates that the compensation will not cover more than a few days, and will not be sufficient for all of the teachers.