“Teachers were ordered to harm each other”: the Yeshivat High School teachers’ organization that acted against the struggle of its employees

The high school teachers’ organization announced today (Friday) a one-day strike on the coming Sunday at Ort “Gross” Kiryat Gat High School, due to the school’s attempt to undermine the sanctions of the teachers’ organization. According to a letter issued by the organization, the school ordered its teachers who are members of the Teachers’ Union to go to extracurricular activities, instead of teachers who are members of the teachers’ organization, who refrain from participating in extracurricular activities as part of a struggle to obtain a new salary agreement.

“This is an act that has the purpose of inciting teachers against each other, and ordering them to harm each other,” said the chairman of the teachers’ organization, Ran Erez, “It violates the right of the teachers to organize and protect their rights.” According to him, the sanctions are intended to “return the finance ministries and education to the negotiating table, in order to promote reaching agreements and signing a collective agreement, for the benefit of teachers and administrators of secondary education.”

Those participating in the sanctions finish their work day at 3:30 p.m., and therefore do not participate in extracurricular activities, and do not hand out grades to the students. The teachers’ fight for a new salary agreement has been going on for two years, when last February it was two years since the last salary agreement expired.

Against the teachers’ struggle: the student council, the parents’ leadership and the treasury

The deputy in charge of wages at the Treasury, Ohad Elkabats, said yesterday at the education committee that sanctions are being considered against teachers who will continue to fight for a new wage agreement: “There is a possibility of a restraining order and salary deduction for the sanctions. A variety of tools are being tested these days, and we will implement them.” The meeting took place while the national student council was on strike in protest of the teacher sanctions.

The salary commissioner Efi Malkin has already ordered to deduct from the teachers’ salaries the advance that was added to them as part of the agreements between the Ministry of Finance and the teachers’ organization. According to Alkabatz, “the teachers’ organization withdrew from all the agreements we reached.” Among other things, the budget department wants to promote an increase in personal contracts for teachers and administrators. Ran Erez told ‘Davar’ that “the treasury is blackmailing us with demands related to personal contracts”, and added that such contracts “will ultimately break up the union of the workers”.

Yesterday, the parents’ leadership sent Education Minister Yoav Kish and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich a letter of warning before a petition to the High Court, demanding action to end the high school teachers’ sanctions. Along with a demand to reach a salary agreement, the parents’ leadership demanded relief for the students affected by the sanctions, for example the cancellation of the matriculation exams in subjects in which the students did not received their grades.

In practice, the government ministries do not have the authority to decide on ending the teachers’ sanctions – this will only happen with the consent of the teachers’ organization, or with a restraining order from the labor court, to which the government has not turned at all since the current sanctions began.

The principal of the Vared Sabo school: “Even though I submitted a request for an exclusion, the teachers’ organization has not yet responded to my request. The 12th grade trip was planned a long time ago for the coming Sunday and was paid for in full, and it was not possible to receive refunds or cancel it. 80% of the teachers of the class are members of the teachers union and they will be reinforced by only one teacher. I respect all the guidelines of the organizations and acted according to them. As evidence, the 10th tier trip planned for April 9 was canceled immediately with the announcement of sanctions.”