Court defers decision on back-to-work orders for striking teachers
Secondary School Teachers' Association warned it would appeal to the High Court of Justice if back-to-work orders were issued.
By Or Kashti Tags: Israel educationThe Secondary School Teachers Association (SSTA) entered the 47th day of its strike Monday morning after the National Labor Court decided overnight not to issue back-to-work orders that would force the high school and junior high school teachers to return to the classrooms.
At the end of the hearing, which lasted approximately 9 hours, the court decided to postpone its decision on the matter, Army Radio reported. The court ordered the state to submit additional data regarding its planned reform of the education system by 11:00 Monday morning.
On Sunday, the SSTA said it would appeal to the High Court of Justice if back-to-work orders had been issued.
The labor court said Sunday it would ask for a copy of the cabinet resolution - if approved - "giving force to the statements of the finance and education ministers" during last week's court session.
In response, the relevant ministries rushed to formulate a "declaration for ending the strike" that would have the force of a cabinet resolution, even though the cabinet is not scheduled to discuss the issue until next week.
The declaration itself contains little new beyond the previous promises given by the education and finance ministers. The SSTA said in response that the "cabinet is continuing to avoid giving precise details of the plan to reduce class sizes and restore classroom hours."
According to Sunday's cabinet resolution, NIS 100 million is to be added to the 2008 education budget for additional tuition hours. This amount can pay for about 20,000 instructional hours, while the union is demanding the return of 110,000 hours to the secondary education system.
The cabinet also resolved to direct the education and finance ministers to submit within 75 days a "multiyear plan for reducing class sizes, adding classroom hours and dividing up classrooms." The budget for this will be determined only after the Knesset approves the 2008 state budget, and in keeping with its limitations.
The resolution also includes the details of the proposal being offered to the striking teachers. The main plank is a wage hike of 8.5 percent, in exchange for an additional three hours a week of small-group tutoring per week. The proposal is conditional on the secondary teachers joining, by June 2009, the educational reform to which the country's elementary school teachers agreed earlier this year.
Finance Minister Roni Bar-On told the cabinet that these commitments "will be in effect irrespective of the labor court's decision on issuing back-to-work orders" to the striking teachers.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, "The cabinet doesn't want a victory over the teachers. We are committed to increasing teachers' salaries significantly and improving education in Israel - but first of all the teachers must stop their strike."
SSTA head Ran Erez said that if the court issued back-to-work orders, "as an organization we will honor them. However, some teachers will not listen to me and will decide to resign. Those who do not will go back to school without hope. It is not clear whether parents will choose to send their children to school when the teachers are working under an injunction."
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Teachers protesting in Jerusalem on Saturday. (Daniel Bar On/Jini) |
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as it is the ONLY WAY to assure some minor adjustment in the income of teachers and to better the teaching environment that will, in the end, help them to do a better job. A lot of damage has been done to the pupils already so, the price has been paid, let's not "return when we already endured 3/4 of the way". I am at a total loss to condone the absolute silence and lack of identification with this, maybe the most meaningful and important strike of the last 5 years!!!
The strike is getting ridiculous now over 40 days and the sides aren't even close to any sort of agreement. Meanwhile the Middle and High School students are roaming the streets until all hours of the night, some getting into trouble. The educational system in this country was lousy before the strike, and the strike is making this country a ship of fools amd it is getting worse each day! One cannot improve the educational system here in Israel until the class sizes are smaller, students better behaved and the teachers are of a higher caliber and of course paid based on their merit! You really think people will make Alyiah from the USA or Europe for this kind of educational system for their kids??? No wonder people are leaving Israel for the Greener pastures in the US and Europe! It is also an embarrassment that the elementary school kids have been dragged into this affair, they see it as time off from school which they hate anyway, so stop exploiting the elementary school kids!
I hope teachers and the worker class won't forget what the Histadrut did against the teacher's struggle. We can create a better worker's Union directed by workers and not politicians. Viva la Confederacion Nacional de Trabajo!
The new reform screems to heaven because it is so cheap. Imagine your children will be crowded up in a too small class room for eight hours. No dining room, no art room classes, no music rooms.... some children do not use the toilets because they so yucky. Add teachers who will earn less per hour than now and have been forced into this by big time manipulations. Add the fact that teachers are supposed to prepare next day's lesson without even a cupboard where to put their files, not to think of a PC. The athmoshere will be more violent than ever. Add to that that about 90 % of all teachers are women, the best of all indicators for what is wrong with the system. Being a school teacher is so bad that no sane man will even consider it.
The Labour Court has shown itself to be an intelligent and temporate mediator during the present crisis. The platitudes and promises of both the education and finance ministries mean nothing if not supported by a firm declaration of intent via the cabinet (and I remain skeptical even then). As for the 'pay hike', I will be getting an extra 1.7 shekels an hour, spread out over 18 months. Generous indeed
whimps!!!