Last update - 00:00 24/10/2007
Junior and senior university faculty to unite against Treasury
By Tamara Traubmann, Haaretz Correspondent
Junior faculty members in universities are preparing for a joint battle together with senior faculty members from all universities and colleges nationwide. The new move, the first of its kind, was decided upon late Tuesday, and comes in addition to the senior faculty members' strike.
The current situation, in which separate unions represent junior and senior faculty members, weakens the impact of the strike.
Ohad Karni, chairman of the junior faculty members at Tel Aviv University, maintains that their battle will focus on the lack of rights and social benefits of part-time, untenured university teachers. In addition, they will organize a union that will represent untenured teachers, who make up most of the colleges' faculty and are currently not affiliated with any union.
Karni also said that after meetings Wednesday between senior and junior faculty members and students at the various universities, it was decided that they would all cooperate starting next Tuesday on joint actions, including canceling all classes and instead holding explanatory classes on the higher education crisis and the education system in Israel.
Senior faculty members rejected a proposal Tuesday by Education Minister Yuli Tamir to stop the strike and enter arbitration overseen by a third party.
"The lecturers received excellent offers, to the extent of thousands of shekels per lecturer, which fell only because of a lack of faith," Tamir said Monday.
Prof. Zvi Hacohen, chairman of the coordinating council of senior faculty associations, said mediation was "unnecessary at this stage."
Hacohen also said, "the money doesn't interest us. What interests us is a mechanism that will prevent erosion of our wages."
He added, "The answer to the question of whether the Finance Ministry is willing to give us such a mechanism should be 'yes' or 'no.' That is not a question for arbitration."
The lecturers fear that if they stop striking, the treasury's director of wages will harden his stand.
"This is a strike to the end and we have ways of stepping it up," Hacohen said. "We have planned ahead, our quiver is not empty," he added.
However, he refused to elaborate on the additional steps the senior faculty members might take.
Among other things, they could decide not to release grades on exams and papers.
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