Last update - 00:00 11/12/2007
Negotiations between secondary school teachers, treasury break down
By Or Kashti, Haaretz Correspondent
Negotiations between the Secondary School Teachers Association and the Finance and Education Ministries broke down Tuesday evening after the leader of the striking teachers, Ran Erez, stormed out on the talks in a fury.
Erez said that the government took back part of their promises in the proposed agreement between the sides. The sides had reached the breakthrough agreement to end a two-month-long strike at a meeting late Monday night, yet details of the deal were to be formulated Tuesday.
The deal which was under discussion would have included a five percent wage hike, gradual reductions in the number of students per class, and restoration of some teaching hours lost to past budget cuts, sources said.
Army Radio reported Tuesday morning that according to the deal, NIS 1.5 billion would have been allocated to the education system over the next five years in order to dramatically reduce the number of students per class.
The marathon negotiations held late Monday were part of a bid to avoid implementing the back-to-work orders issued last week by the National Labor Court, which take effect Thursday.
Meanwhile, teachers at some 60 secondary schools so far had already decided not to return to work on Thursday, if the sides failed to reach a finished agreement and the court orders were still in effect.
According to one teacher active in the strike, "our goal is to reach a critical mass of teachers, that would empty the injunctions of meaning. Refusal to obey the orders does not constitute breaking proper standards of behavior, but rather their restoration: you cannot resolve a conflict like this by means of a unilateral measure like back-to-work orders, but only through negotiations."
Other activists said that at several schools, teachers are planning to go to the nearest police station on Thursday and ask to be arrested.
Teachers are relying, among other things, on a legal opinion that said: "A teacher who does not return to work after the court order has gone into effect will not be considered in violation of the court order. At most, these teachers are absent without justification. In that case, there is the possibility of disciplinary measures against the teacher, including listing the absences as unpaid leave; beginning a disciplinary proceeding that includes a letter of reprimand or letter of warning; or opening a hearing proceeding. In the latter event, a member of the teachers' organization will sit on the committee."
In his speech Monday at Globes' Israel Business Conference, Finance Minister Roni Bar-On said that "the discourse surrounding obeying the court orders raises questions about the degree of commitment in Israel to the rules of the game in a democracy."
He added that as time passes, "chances are lessened for a consensual reform of the school system."
Between now and Thursday, Education Minister Yuli Tamir will meet with groups of principals around the country in an effort to enlist their cooperation for an orderly resumption of classes. In response, the High School Principals Association issued a call "not to attend the meeting with Education Ministry representatives, who issued court orders against teachers and principals."
Erez charged that the Education Ministry is trying to drive a wedge between teachers and principals. "Therefore we asked that principals refrain from participating in conferences of any sort that are organized by the Education Ministry or Union of Local Authorities."
An earlier meeting Monday between Bar-On and Erez achieved no results. Sources involved in the talks said that Bar-On tried to persuade Erez to end the strike by promising that "within a few months everything will be alright."
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