Court bars teachers from going on strike over wage dispute

The National Labor Court ruled late Monday night that teachers in the state education system cannot launch a strike at the start of the school year over a wage dispute, and schools must open on time.

The Secondary School Teachers' Association has threatened to strike and delay the opening of the school year if their salary demands aren't met by the Finance ministry and the Education Ministry.

On September 5, three days after the school year begins, the treasury and the teachers' union will report to the court on the progress of the wage negotiations between them. On September 6, the court will rule on whether to allow the teachers to go on strike during the second week of the school year, should the negotiations fail.

Injunctions to bar the teachers from going on strike have been issued at the behest of the treasury and the education ministry.

The teachers' association responded to the move by saying that the injunctions violate of the rights of 40,000 teachers. "If we don't apply pressure, we won't achieve anything," chairman of the teachers' association Ran Erez said Monday. Government representatives, however, said that the teachers' strike could cause a lot of unnecessary damage.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addressed the teachers' association on Monday saying "for once, surprise the public and don't threaten to strike."

Earlier Monday, Education Minister Yuli Tamir did not appear at a meeting of the ministerial committee on violence, where she was scheduled to present her office's plan to prevent violence in schools just as the academic year is about to begin.

Committee officials said this was the third time Tamir had failed to participate in discussions of the subject.

Tamir did not immediately respond to the criticism.

"Unfortunately, we will not discuss the topic of preventing violence in schools today, since the minister did not appear at the meeting, and it's too bad," said committee chairman Public Security Minister Avi Dichter.

A source who participated in the meeting on Tuesday said the committee also planned to deal with violence in sports and a project to curb urban violence.

"Above all, the committee was meant to discuss the Education Ministry's plan to prevent and eradicate violence in schools," the participant said.