The Finance Ministry and the Teacher's Union announced Wednesday that they have reached a mutual agreement over the number of teachers who will retire, as well as the amount of their retirement packages.

According to the agreement, 1,300 teachers will retire during each of the next two years, in exchange for NIS 40,000.

The Teachers' Union said that despite the agreement, negotiations over the unresolved issues of the new labor agreement will "continue to be intensive."

	Advertisement

The number of retiring teachers doesn't include teachers who will retire due to their medical condition, and teachers that aren't civil servants.

Teachers' Union director general, Yossi Vasserman, said that, "The Finance Ministry was wise enough to understand that warn down teachers should be allowed to leave the system with dignity and equitable conditions."

Despite this, the Secondary Schools Teachers' Association will go on strike Thursday in all Haifa region high schools, canceling classes for all students in gardes seven through 12.

"The negotiations continue to be barren, and no progress has been made," said an organization spokesperson.

Secondary School Teachers' Association chairman Ran Erez said that "also the finance minister and eductation minister don't have the authority to move ahead ... the prime minister won't give a green light for investing in the children of Israel."

The Teacher's Association on Wednesday resumed its disruptions of the education system throughout the country by working only within the curriculum of their scheduled in-class lessons, refraining from their extracaricular work.

The association said it decided to resume the disruptions following foot-dragging in its negotiations with the treasury over new work agreements.